Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 December 2022
359. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Health 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. [60085/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is required to make annual returns under Department of Finance circular 40/2002 in respect of awarded contracts in excess of €25,000 without a competitive process.
In 2020 there were twenty-six contracts included in my Department's annual return in respect of Circular 40/2002 that were not in compliance with guidelines. In 2021, there were 26 contracts included in the return. The requested details of these contracts are provided in the attached tables.
It should be noted that a number of non-competitive contracts were required to be implemented as a direct response to the Covid-19 pandemic. EU Directives provide legitimate reasons for awarding contracts non-competitively, such as extreme urgency brought about by unforeseeable events.
As the annual reporting process in respect of the Department’s 2022 40/02 return has not yet commenced, the requested information in respect of this year is not yet available.
