Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 282: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if she will provide this Deputy with a copy of the tender document for the new co-located hospitals; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14092/07]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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On foot of a Government decision, I issued a policy direction to the Health Service Executive (HSE) in July 2005 on the co-location of private hospitals on the sites of public hospitals in order to free up 1,000 beds for public patients.

My Department has been informed by the HSE that Invitation to Tender (ITT) documents were issued to the short-listed bidders on Thursday 19th April 2007 in relation to the following public hospital sites:

1 Waterford Regional Hospital

2 Cork University Hospital

3 Limerick Regional Hospital

4 Sligo General Hospital

5 Beaumont Hospital

6 St. James's Hospital

It is expected that the Invitations To Tender for Connolly Hospital (Blanchardstown) and the Adelaide and Meath Hospital incorporating the National Children's Hospital (Tallaght) will issue at a later date.

Tenders are due to be submitted to the HSE by 17th May 2007. The HSE will evaluate the tenders and select the successful bidders during the following 2 weeks. Following that a "stand still" period of 2 weeks is required by procurement law before agreements can be signed with successful bidders.

As the Deputy is aware, the HSE is utilising a competitive dialogue process to award the contracts for this project. Throughout the process bidders have been (and continue to be) subject to tight confidentiality undertakings. The HSE has been advised that if the ITT (and the associated Project Agreements) were to be released before the competition is concluded, this would irrevocably undermine the confidential nature of the competition. Accordingly, I am not in a position to furnish the Deputy with a copy of the ITT (or the Project Agreements) at this time. The commercial sensitivity of these documents will be reviewed by the HSE upon completion of the competition.