Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the reason a panel of small and medium-sized enterprises sub-contractors are asked to tender for the provision of domestic water metering services before regional main contractors have been appointed; and if he will clarify the reason many SME sub-contractors are being precluded from tendering due to the stringent tendering criteria [1832/13]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The Government has decided that Irish Water, a new State-owned water company to be established as an independent subsidiary within the Bord Gáis Éireann Group, will be responsible for the domestic water metering programme and for the collection of water charges from households.

The procurement process for the sub-contractor panel has been developed by my Department, in consultation with Bord Gáis Éireann, to ensure that SMEs have an opportunity to compete for contracts. The tender criteria have been developed to ensure that sub-contractors have the capacity to carry out the scale of work involved to the necessary high standard. The approach being taken for the sub-contractor panel is consistent with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform guidelines on facilitating SME participation in public procurement (that Department’s Circular 10/10 refers).

The list of the pre-qualified sub-contractors will be provided to the regional main contractors (RMCs) who will be invited to tender for the RMC contracts. It is expected that the successful RMCs will be utilising the resources of the pre-qualified sub-contractors for the purpose of delivering the meter installation works.

As the procurement process is currently underway it would be inappropriate for me to comment further.