Written answers
Wednesday, 26 July 2017
Department of Finance
Departmental Contracts Data
Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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108. To ask the Minister for Finance if all security and contract cleaning companies that have obtained contracts from his Department and agencies under the aegis of his Department under public procurement rules are paying the legal employment regulation order, ERO, hourly rate to their security and contract cleaning employees; the steps he has taken to confirm full compliance with the ERO system; if he has cancelled contracts with companies that have been found to be in breach of the ERO system since 1 October 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35227/17]
Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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In relation to cleaning services, and indeed facilities management services generally, my Department arranges the provision of such services both for itself and for the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. There is no contract with an outside security company in respect of the provision of security for the buildings occupied by the two Departments. Following a procurement process in 2015, a contract was awarded to a service provider to provide cleaning services in respect of the offices occupied by the two Departments.
Under the terms of the Request for Tender, all prospective tenderers were required to be aware of employment law including remuneration as set out in paragraph 2.11.1 of the RFT which stated the following "Under Article 27 of Directive 2004/18/EC as implemented into Irish law by Regulation 27 of European Communities (Award of Public Contracts) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 329 of 2006), Tenderers must provide a statement confirming that they have taken account of their legal obligations relating to employment protection and working conditions relating to the provision of the Services sought under this RFT". Written confirmation to this effect was required to be provided by all prospective tenderers. In addition, the current provider of cleaning services to my Department and to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has confirmed that it is in compliance with the ERO system.
The information forwarded to my Department by the 18 bodies under its aegis is set out in following table.
| Body | Conformation of compliance with ERO hourly rate? | Details of any contracts that have been cancelled arising from breaches of the ERO system since 1 October 2015? |
|---|---|---|
| Comptroller and Auditor General | Yes. Confirmation was received from suppliers that they are in compliance with ERO | None |
| Central Bank | Our supplier has confirmed that they observe all statutes relating to the ERO’s agreed for both the security and cleaning industries. Our contract with our supplier requires that the rates of pay for staff comply with all applicable laws. In line with our contract, our supplier has provided these rates to us and we can verify that the rates comply with current ERO rates. Any changes in pay rates by the supplier will be passed on to us, which enable us to verify compliance with ERO rates. | N/A |
| Credit Review Office | N/A – The Credit Review Office is housed within the Enterprise Ireland (EI) premises. EI provide all support services to the Credit Review Office, including security and cleaning services. | N/A |
| Credit Union Advisory Committee | N/A – CUAC are a committee with no office space who meet in the Department of Finance once a month so the information sought does not apply to CUAC. | N/A |
| Credit Union Restructuring Board (ReBo) | N/A – ReBo have no security requirements & Contract Cleaning is arranged through the Law Reform Commission (from whom they have an accommodation sub-lease) | N/A |
| Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal | N/A – the DDMBoA does not contract any cleaning companies nor does it have any security requirements. These are managed by the National Rehabilitation Hospital. | N/A |
| Financial Services Ombudsman Bureau | Contract Cleaning Company contracted by FSOB has confirmed compliance with ERO hourly rate. | N/A |
| Financial Services Ombudsman Council | FSOC does not procure or manage any such services. | N/A |
| Investor Compensation Company | N/A - The ICCL do not have any cleaning or security contracts as those services would be provided by the Central Bank under our shared services agreement. | N/A |
| Irish Bank Resolution Corporation | N/A - IBRC are outside the scope of public procurement rules. | N/A |
| Irish Financial Services Appeals Tribunal | Nil - IFSAT has not engaged any security or cleaning contracts under public procurement rules and is not party to the ERO system. | N/A |
| Irish Fiscal Advisory Council | Nil - IFAC pay an administration fee to the ESRI, who have procured cleaning companies to look after the building they work in. That administration fee comprises costs for many services that they receive from the ESRI, including cleaning and maintenance. | N/A |
| National Asset Management Agency | The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) assigns staff to the National Asset Management Agency and provides it with business and support services and systems – please see below from the NTMA. | N/A |
| National Treasury Management Agency | We have received written confirmation from our contract cleaning service that they recognise and adhere to the terms of the ERO. The NTMA do not use contract security staff (The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) assigns staff to the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) and the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) and also provides them with business and support services and systems). | N/A |
| Office of the Revenue Commissioners | Following a public procurement exercise, Revenue awarded a contract to one supplier for Cleaning Services in May 2014. Adherence with ERO is a stipulated requirement of the tender contract. Revenue confirmed that the supplier is paying the correct rate of pay to their cleaning operatives. The current Employment Regulation Order (ERO) for the cleaning sector is effective from 1/12/16. Revenue has one major and multiple smaller suppliers for security services. As part of a forthcoming tender process for security services, suppliers provided anonymised data in respect of their employees pay rates. This confirmed that all our current suppliers are paying the correct rate of pay to their staff. This complies with the ERO for the security sector which is effective from 1/6/17. To ensure transparency and fairness in the procurement process relating to these sectors, Revenue/OGP are required to include anonymised data provided by the incumbent supplier(s) in relation to employee costs (number of hours, rate of pay, OT, Sunday rates, etc.) as part of the tender documentation. | None |
| Social Finance Foundation | N/A - The SFF does not have a central office or premises and each staff member works from home, so there are no security or cleaning contracts involved. | N/A |
| Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland | The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) assigns staff to the SBCI and provides it with business and support services and systems – please see above from the NTMA. | N/A |
| Tax Appeals Commission | The Tax Appeals Commission has not procured these services however we have confirmed with the Department supplying a cleaning service on our behalf (Revenue) that they are paying in accordance with the ERO rates and this has been confirmed with suppliers. Revenue have confirmed that: Following a public procurement exercise, Revenue awarded a contract to one supplier for Cleaning Services in May 2014. Adherence with ERO is a stipulated requirement of the tender contract. Revenue confirmed that the supplier is paying the correct rate of pay to their cleaning operatives. The current Employment Regulation Order (ERO) for the cleaning sector is effective from 1/12/16. To ensure transparency and fairness in the procurement process, Revenue/OGP are required to publish anonymised data for all suppliers in these sectors relating to employee costs (no. of hours, rate of pay, OT, Sunday rates etc.). The Tax Appeals Commission does not employ a security service. | No |
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