Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 408: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that Donegal County Council, in respect of tenders of less that €40,000 in value, requires suppliers to provide indemnities of as high as €6.5 million for not only the county council itself but for the peace and reconciliation partnership and the special EU programmes body; if he regards such requirements as proportionate; if he will investigate the matter and question the county council accordingly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22752/10]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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National Public Procurement Guidelines provide that the requirements to be met in respect of a particular project should be proportionate to its nature, complexity and scope. The requirement to provide public indemnities is related to the risks attached to the project, rather than to its value.

For this purpose, local authorities avail of the services of the Irish Public Bodies Mutual Insurances Ltd. to advise on the appropriate level of insurance for the risks involved. It is a matter for local authorities as contracting authorities to administer public procurement procedures in the appropriate manner. Local authorities generally are subject to annual audit by the Local Government Audit Service, which includes examination of procurement and tendering procedures on a sample basis to ensure compliance with the relevant requirements.