Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 237: To ask the Minister for Defence his proposals to source chicken for the Defence Forces from An Bord Bia assured processors here (details supplied). [26669/09]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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The Defence Forces are obliged to carry out the procurement of food products in an open and transparent manner and in line with National and EU Public Procurement Guidelines. The Defence Forces have absolutely no discretion in this regard. The previous contract for the provision of fresh poultry products for the Defence Forces expired on 31 May 2009. In anticipation of this deadline, an open tender competition was advertised on the Department of Finance's e-tenders website and published in the Official Journal of the European Union in February 2009.

The tender documentation indicated that the contract would run over a period of two years and that a potential tenderer could tender for any or all of the 18 Defence Forces locations throughout the State. The closing date for the receipt of tenders was 7 May 2009. A total of nine tenders were received and a three person Defence Forces Evaluation Team evaluated the tenders. The contract was subsequently awarded to Crossgar Foodservices, County Down on the basis of cost. The contract value is in the region of €350k over two years.

All poultry products provided by Crossgar Foodservices under the contract are produced on the island of Ireland. The chickens are reared by individual poultry farmers in Northern Ireland. When ready for slaughter they are then processed by O'Kane Poultry, based in Northern Ireland, who have Board Bia certification. I am advised that the Defence Forces are fully satisfied that the poultry products from Crossgar Food Products are fully certified in all respects and that the products meet the required Irish, English and EU specifications.

I met with the IFA last week and I understand the concerns of the IFA poultry growers. I agreed with the representatives the importance of food standards and traceability in the procurement of food for the Defence Forces. We will continue to ensure the highest standards within the overall requirements of EU procurement rules. I have also agreed to bring the concerns as expressed to me to the attention of other Departments also. It should be noted that over €5m was spent in the last 12 months by the Defence Forces on food products for the various Defence Forces locations around the country and that the vast majority of these contracts were with Irish companies.