Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it gives me an opportunity to outline to the House the measures the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, has put in place to ensure companies working on contracts awarded under the Department's schools building programme are compliant with tax and employment laws. In common with the rest of the public sector, all Department of Education and Skills capital works projects are tendered and awarded under the standard public works contracts, as required by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Government construction contracts committee, GCCC. The guidelines require a competitive process carried out in an open, objective and transparent manner to achieve best value for money in public procurement. Essential principles to be observed in conducting all procurement functions include non-discrimination, equal treatment, transparency, mutual recognition, proportionality, freedom to provide service and freedom of establishment.

Any contractor wishing to tender for any building projects funded by my Department must sign a personal situation declaration under oath confirming the company's compliance with Regulation 53 of SI 329 of 2006, which requires the contractor, among other things, to confirm that the company has not been convicted for failing to fulfil an obligation to pay a social security contribution or to pay a tax or levy as required under a law of the country or territory. Where a contractor fails to provide this declaration, it is excluded from tender competitions being run by my Department.

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Any contractor wishing to tender for any building projects funded by my Department must sign a personal situation declaration under oath confirming that they are in compliance with regulation 53 of SI 329 of 2006 which requires the contractor, among other things, to confirm that they have not been convicted for failing to fulfil an obligation to pay a social security contribution or to pay a tax or levy, as required under a law of the country or territory. Where a contractor fails to provide this declaration, they are excluded from tender competitions being run by my Department.

Contractors must also produce a tax clearance certificate or demonstrate a satisfactory level of tax compliance before they are awarded a contract. Furthermore, where my Department becomes aware of issues on building projects it funds, these issues are brought to the attention of the relevant statutory authorities. I am keen to ensure that building contractors operating legitimately are protected while those who seek to avoid their obligations under the terms of the public works contracts will be reported to the statutory agencies and penalised, where appropriate.

I am happy that the vast majority of building contractors are compliant. However, given the large sums of public money involved in the capital spend of the education sector, my Department appointed Contractors Administration Services, CAS, in April 2013 to conduct random audits on school building projects in order to verify compliance with the relevant pay and conditions clauses in the public works contracts. In tandem with the appointment of CAS, my Department also provided an online complaint system on its website to enable individuals bring to the Department's attention cases where they are of the opinion that issues of non-compliance are taking place.

Contractors Administration Services are continuing to conduct audits on school and college building projects and any issues of non-compliance brought to the attention of my Department will be audited by CAS and should irregularities be uncovered in terms of non-compliance with employment law, enforcement and prosecution falls under the remit of NERA. My Department will liaise with NERA on the progress of the random audits by CAS and will report any discrepancies found to it. If an audit uncovers any other matters of concern in regard to tax compliance or social welfare fraud, such matters will be referred to either the Revenue Commissioners and-or the Department of Social Protection, as appropriate.

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