Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will set out the tendering process for the awarding of legal contracts by University College Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51333/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Universities are autonomous institutions and my Department does not have any function in their operational affairs, including tendering, for which the Governing Bodies and the management staff are responsible. However, officials of my Department have made enquiries and I understand that when the university needs to obtain external legal advice it does so from a panel of law firms.

The Code of Governance for Irish Universities set outs the requirement that competitive tendering is the standard practice to be adopted. In addition to the national procurement guidelines, there are also specific EU Directives which are applicable to all Member States in this regard.

It is the responsibility of the governing authority and management to ensure that appropriate systems and procedures are implemented to ensure that the requirements for public procurement are adhered to and that the current value thresholds for the application of EU and national procurement rules are respected.