Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 698: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if he will review the tender conditions on a project (details supplied) in County Roscommon as per correspondence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22943/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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The correspondence to which the Deputy refers relates to the requirement for contractors to demonstrate economic capacity to carry out a project. Economic and Financial Standing is one of the criteria laid down in the EU Procurement Directives for pre-selection of contractors tendering for building contracts. Contracting Authorities have an obligation to ensure that, as part of suitability assessment for placing on tender lists for projects, contractors have adequate economic and financial capacity.

One of the key criteria for assessing financial and economic capacity is the average annual turnover of the contracting company over the previous three years. The purpose of this is to ensure that the firm has adequate capacity and will not be overstretched if it is successful in winning the tender competition. Turnover is the measure of financial and economic standing consistently used across the public sector.

The turnover requirement for school building projects has been reduced from 2.5 times the estimated contract value in 2007 to twice the estimated contract value in 2009 and this is also reduced pro-rata for projects exceeding 12 months in duration (e.g. 1.5 times the estimated contract value for an 18 month contract). With pre-tender estimates (on which the turnover requirement is calculated) also reflecting the significantly reduced tender levels, this also serves to reduce, on an ongoing basis, the turnover threshold for contractors applying for projects.

In the case of the school building project referred to by the Deputy, the contract notice seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified contractors has already been published on the public procurement portal www.etenders.gov.ie. Therefore, in this instance, it is not possible to review the tender conditions as the Contract Notice has already been placed and the tender competition is underway.