Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)
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Question 160: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the plans she has to review the decision to award the cattle tag contract to just one company; the reason for this decision; her views on whether it is acceptable that those who were unsuccessful should be informed via the media rather than her Department; the steps being taken to review the communication policy in such circumstances; the reason no clear specifications were given for the tendering process; the reason each of the seven companies failed in the tender process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31417/06]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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There are no plans to review the decision taken to award the contract following the recent public tender process for the supply of cattle tags. The tendering process was conducted in a fair, open and transparent manner in accordance with EU and national legislation on public procurement. The award criteria were set out in the Invitation to Tender document. This document also outlined the general requirements for the tag but, as has been the policy for the past ten years, it did not include direct specifications so as to facilitate a response from the industry that would give the widest representation of the products on offer.

One supplier of cattle tags was selected because the overall solution offered by that company was deemed to be significantly superior to the alternatives offered in the tender process. A copy of the report of the evaluation committee, which outlined the methodology used to assess the tenders, was provided to each company that submitted a valid tender. The contract to be awarded on foot of this tender process will be for a period of one year and may be extended for a further period of up to a maximum of two years.

All companies who submitted valid tenders for the supply of cattle tags were informed of the decision in the normal way, by fax and registered post, immediately following completion of all the steps in the decision making process. While one newspaper anticipated the outcome of the decision making process and published an article on the subject prior to my Department notifying the results, I can confirm that my Department did not make the information available for publication.