Written answers
Wednesday, 3 March 2021
Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Public Procurement Contracts
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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585. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the details of contracts of €25,000 or more that have been awarded by his Department or bodies under his aegis that were found to be non-compliant with procurement guidelines in 2018, 2019, 2020 and to date in 2021; the value and nature of the contact work carried out in each case; the year of each contract in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11371/21]
Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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From the available information compiled to date by my Department, the contracts that were approved without competitive tender in 2018 and 2019 are outlined in the table following.
For 2020, the 40/02 for year ended 2020 is currently being prepared and will be submitted to the C&AG before the 31st March 2021. For 2021, the 40/02 for year ended 2021 will be compiled and submitted to C&AG before 31 March 2022.
There were three contracts in the department for 2019 and none for 2018.
Bodies under the aegis of the department : The Adoption Authority of Ireland and the National Disability Authority had one contract each to be included, and Oberstown Children Detention Campus had eight contracts to include in this reply.
I have also referred the question to Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, the Ombudsman for Children's Office and the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and asked them to provide the information sought directly to the Deputy.
| Subject of Contract / Purchase | Contract Period | Value € (exclusive of VAT) | Reason for no competitive tender |
|---|---|---|---|
| Departmental contracts | |||
| Niamh McCullagh - Forensic archaeological work on behalf of Commission of Investigation. | 2019 | 83,787 | N McCullagh is the only forensic archaeologist working in Ireland who has the necessary experience in the search, location, and recovery of human remains. Ms. McCullagh worked on a number of similar cases and was recommended by another public sector body. All work was agreed with MBH in advance with regular updates. |
| KAG Contractors - Forensic archaeological work on behalf of Commission of Investigation. | 2019 | 51,213 | KAG single invoice relates to a once-off project [Sean Ross excavation] conducted 18/02-15/03. The company was engaged as it has the experience in working with other public bodies (Justice, Gardaí) in the search, location, and recovery of human remains. They worked on a number of similar cases. Work was agreed in advance. |
| John & Ger Halbert - Support for Guidelines Development for the Comhairle na nÓg National Executive | 2019 | 44,000 | An RFT was advertised but yielded no response. The supplier was approached and asked to submit an RFT which was evaluated using the original criteria so the final contract was awarded by direct negotiated process. |
| Agencies under the department contracts | |||
| Marion Reynolds - Overseeing an independent review into incorrect birth registrations and production of report on same. | 2018 | 32,753 | When the then Minister for Children and Youth Affairs was made aware of evidence of illegal birth registrations in the files of the defunct adoption society St. Patrick’s Guild, the Minister directed that further investigations be carried out immediately to see if clear evidence of Illegal registrations could be obtained from the records of other former adoption agencies. An Independent Reviewer from outside the State was appointed to oversee this process. Under these circumstances it was not possible to undertake a competitive process, owing to the need to commence the review promptly.It was intended that this would cost less than €25,000. However, due to the complexity of the task as well as GDPR and legal issues, it took longer than expected. This impacted on the number of days the independent reviewer charged the Department for. |
| Noonan Security - Security services provided to the National Disability Authority | 2018 | 29,166 | The security contract expired 31 December 2017, however a number of factors led to a delay in establishing a new contract including complications arising from new regulations and unsuccessful tendering competitions, so that the NDA had little choice but to extend the contract for essential security reasons. Further to a repeated competition process, a contract was awarded successfully in December 2018. |
| Recreational support to young people - James O’Connor, Samantha Byrne, Tommy Stack, Conor McGuire | 2018 | 118,951 | Suppliers were in place prior to the establishment of Oberstown Children Detention Campus as a legal entity on 1 June 2016. A review of procurement procedures did not take place until 2019. |
| Financial Advice - McInerney Saunders Financial Advice | 2018 | 68,673 | This supplier’s unique knowledge of Oberstown was invaluable for the service required at the time. The opinion was that no alternative provider could be used in the circumstances. From 2019 the supplier was no longer required. |
| Occupational Health- Medwise Occupational Health | 2018 | 33,987 | Supplier was in place prior to the establishment of Oberstown Children Detention Campus as a legal entity on 1 June 2016. The supplier is no longer required. |
| Security equipment - Scan-X security | 2019 | 33,350 | Three quotes obtained due to urgency of supply. |
| Agency Staff - Orange Recruitment | 2019 | 63,365 | Supplier was in place prior to the establishment of Oberstown Children Detention Campus as a legal entity on 1 June 2016. The supplier is no longer required. |
| Occupational Mental Health Services - Inspire Occupational Health | 2019 | 32,039 | Staff Mental Health Service providers were explored via a desk research project. They were measured against specific marking criteria for the purposes of awarding the contract. The tender was not put through eTenders. |
| Recreational Support to young people - Danny Bianchi, Jaime Travers, Ray Lawlor, Conor McGuire, James O'Connor, Scoil Seamus Ennis, Image Fitness Training Ltd | 2020 | 196,289 | Suppliers were in place prior to the establishment of Oberstown Children Detention Campus as a legal entity on 1 June 2016. A review of procurement procedures did not take places until 2019. |
| Recreational Support to young people - Conor McGuire, James O’Connor, Jack Wycherley | 2020 | 93,822 | Supplier was in place prior to the establishment of Oberstown Children Detention Campus as a legal entity on 1 June 2016. The supplier is no longer required. |
| Agency Staff - Orange Recruitment | 2020 | 54,920 | Supplier was in place prior to the establishment of Oberstown Children Detention Campus as a legal entity on 1 June 2016. The supplier is no longer required. |
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