Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 December 2022
240. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the contracts that have been granted without having to go to public tender; the companies that were granted these contracts and nature of the work involved; the qualifying criteria that was applied to any company awarded such a contract in 2020, 2021 and to date in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60083/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Foreign Affairs seeks to ensure that there is a strong focus on good practice in procurement at all times and that procedures are in place to ensure compliance with all relevant procurement guidelines.
Procurement takes place in compliance with Directive 2014/24/EU and supported by Procurement Guidelines published by the Office of Government Procurement (“OGP”). The Department participates fully in on-going initiatives of the OGP focusing especially on achieving procurement savings, including through the use of shared framework agreements for the provision of different categories of supplies and services.
These rules require the Department to award contracts under procedures designed to achieve value for public money in an open, transparent and non-discriminatory competitive process.
The EU Directive recognises that there are situations and circumstances where the negotiated procedure without prior publication is both necessary and legitimate. Regulation 32 of the European Union (Award of Public Authority Contracts) Regulations, as set out in S.I. No. 284 of 2016, provides for the awarding of contracts by way of negotiated procedure without prior publication in certain defined circumstances. For example, this procedure may be used for the purchase of goods and services where no tenders or no suitable tenders are submitted; in cases of extreme urgency not attributable to the Department and brought about by unforeseen events; where only a proprietary product will meet the requirement; where a supplier has sole rights to supply a service or product; the creation or acquisition of a unique work of art; where a public contract is concluded between two or more departments; where a change of supplier would oblige the Department to acquire products having different technical characteristics which would result in incompatibility and technical difficulties and increased costs; or where the contract follows an EU design contest.
The contract information requested is listed in tabular form below. The tables contain all contracts undertaken by way of negotiated procedure without prior publication under Regulation 32 of the European Union (Award of Public Authority Contracts) Regulations for the years 2020 and 2021. Returns for 2022 are not yet available.
Table 1 – 2020 Contracts
|
Company Name |
Nature of Service |
|
Bearing Point (1) |
Managed Support Services for the support and implementation of the Department's Passport Reform Programme |
|
Bearing Point (2) |
Managed Services for the Department's ICT Automated Passport System (APS) |
|
Core Financials |
Support of the Department's ICT Financial Management System |
|
Documents in Irish Foreign Policy (DIFP) |
The DIFP project is a unique voluntary non-commercial collaborative public service partnership between DFA, National Archives and the Royal Irish Academy |
|
Employment Conditions Abroad (ECA) |
Subscription service that supplies the Department with indexation and other statistical information on a country-by-country basis. |
|
Financial Times |
Electronic access to Financial Times publication |
|
Irish Times |
Electronic access to Irish Times publication |
|
IT Group |
Managed Technical Support Services for the Department's ICT Helpdesk |
|
RTE |
Technical Expertise and Support for a Virtual Conference Event held for DFA Heads of Mission |
|
SOAS University |
Specialist Training Services |
|
William Kent Developments |
Engagement of Works contractor to conduct minor works at the Official Residence for Consulate General Los Angeles |
|
Worldreach Software Corporation |
Support and Maintenance for the Cabhair Consular Support ICT system. |
|
Zero Downtime Ltd |
Expert Technical Support Services for the Department's ICT Network infrastructure |
Table 2 – 2021 Contracts
|
Company Name |
Nature of Service |
|
Bearing Point (1) |
Managed Support Services for the support and implementation of the Department's Passport Reform Programme |
|
Bearing Point (2) |
Managed Services for the Department's ICT Automated Passport System (APS) |
|
Colin Davidson |
Artwork: Portrait of Edna O'Brien for display in Embassy |
|
Core Financials |
Support of the Department's ICT Financial Management System |
|
Documents in Irish Foreign Policy (DIFP) |
The DIFP project is a unique voluntary non-commercial collaborative public service partnership between DFA, National Archives and the Royal Irish Academy |
|
Elizabeth O'Kane |
Artwork: 4x bronze busts of John Hume for display in Embassies and public buildings |
|
Employment Conditions Abroad (ECA) |
Subscription service that supplies the Department with indexation and other statistical information on a country-by-country basis. |
|
Factiva |
Electronic News Aggregator |
|
Faithful & Gould (1) |
Emergency property inspection survey to Embassy Building, Washington D.C. |
|
Faithful & Gould (2) |
Emergency Life Safety Property Inspection to Embassy Building, Washington D.C. |
|
Faithful & Gould (3) |
Emergency Life Safety Property Inspection of Official Residence, Washington D.C. |
|
Faithful & Gould (4) |
Project Management of Emergency Remedial Works to Embassy Building Washington D.C. |
|
Financial Times |
Electronic access to Financial Times publication |
|
Institute of Public Administration (IPA) |
Design and delivery of an economics training course for staff in the Department |
|
Irish Times |
Electronic access to Irish Times publication |
|
SKSC Limited |
Extension of contract for Irish Passport Booklets & Cards |
|
Terminal Four (T4) |
Proprietary ICT software used to manage DFA's websites |
|
Worldreach Software Corporation |
Support and Maintenance for the Cabhair Consular Support ICT system. |
