Dáil debates

Tuesday, 1 October 2019

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions

Public Procurement Regulations

5:55 pm

Photo of Pearse DohertyPearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Earlier this year, the construction firm, Western Building Systems, was awarded a contract to deliver a 60 bed modular ward extension at University Hospital Limerick. This same construction firm was found to be responsible for structural defects in many of the 42 new schools that have been built in recent years. In August, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy McHugh, said that structural flaws had been identified in a further 17 school buildings which would require temporary works to be carried out in the following weeks. All of the funding for this is coming from the pocket of the taxpayer. Asked why this firm won the contract for the ward at University Hospital Limerick, the Minister for Health said that Ministers in Departments do not have a role in the procurement process, which has to be run in accordance with very strict national and EU laws. The Minister for Health does not seem to understand EU regulations or the procurement process because section 56, paragraph 8 of the European Union (Award of Public Contracts) Regulation which was transposed here in 2016, is very clear. It says that a contracting authority may exclude from participation in a procurement procedure any economic operator "where the economic operator has shown significant or persistent deficiencies in the performance of a substantive requirement under a prior public contract". Given the evidence that we have regarding the widespread defects related to this contractor, why under God did the Government not apply this provision and exclude it from bidding for and being awarded a further public contract to build a modular hospital extension?

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