Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Chairman for tabling this question. I had a chance to discuss it with the officials prior to the meeting. The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht has a contract with Mr. Maurice Coughlan for the period from 1 December 2011 to 30 November 2014 for the provision of a passenger ferry service between Long Island in Cork and the mainland. As the contract was coming to an end, the Department sought tenders for a new contract through a public tendering process, advertised in the normal way on eTenders. The term of the new contract was to be from 1 December 2014 to 30 November 2019, ministerial approval having been granted for the new contract to cover a five-year period rather than a three-year period, as is currently the case.

The deadline for receipt of tenders was 15 August 2014. After that date a tender assessment committee was established to assess the tenders. Having worked through the assessment process it was the committee’s view that there were issues within the tenders received. The committee sought the advice of the Department’s evaluation unit, the Office of Government Procurement and the Chief State’s Solicitor’s Office on the most appropriate course of action. The legal advice was the tendering process should be terminated and that a new tender competition should be advertised. To achieve a solution, the Department was left with no choice but to extend the current contract for a period. Ministerial approval was obtained to extend the current contract for four months up until 31 March 2015. The Department advertised for tenders for a five-year contract to commence on 1 April 2015. That is not unprecedented. As the procurement process for the contract is under way, and based on legal advice, it would not be appropriate to give any details regarding issues relating to the previous tenders.