Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 6 February 2019

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health

Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion
Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Therein lies the serious question as to whether it is good practice. In a previous existence, many of my colleagues and I would have been cautious about tenders, particularly the testing of a tender. It is illegal to qualify a tender, or in theory, at least. In the case in question, however, I am concerned that all kinds of figures have been thrashed around over the past few weeks as to where the project came from and went. My summation is that, in the initial stages, the project was not adequately costed from the point of view of the client. If it had been, we would not have that degree of overrun we have now. For that reason, I am asking what competence existed among board members to assess the validity and basis for the tender. For instance, why did somebody not say accepting the lowest tender price could result in the making of the wrong decision, thereby undermining the whole process? Could Mr. Breslin elucidate how we can prevent that kind of thing from happening again? Would the same thing happen again?

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