Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I asked the Tánaiste whether it was appropriate for the Minister, Deputy Naughten, to have two meetings with the lead bidder in the most significant contract being overseen by his Department? It is a simple and straightforward question. I have had engagements with procurement officers in the context of the protocols for this area, which I drew up during my time as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. Interestingly, when I tried to access them online at the weekend I noted they have been removed from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform website. Under those protocols, a designated official with a designated email address was the only point of contact in a bidding process. Ministerial staff and the Minister were debarred from having any contact with a tenderer during the tender process. This was rigidly adhered to and, I believe, is still rigidly adhered to in most Departments. It is particularly bizarre that this is not the case in the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, in particular because following on from the Moriarty tribunal, the guidelines are clear that there should be no meetings between a Minister and bidders during the bidding process. Any meetings between officials - there should be a designated official - should be minuted and published, whether or not commercially sensitive.

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