Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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186. To ask the Minister for Finance the contracts that have been granted without having to go to public tender; the companies that were granted these contracts and nature of the work involved; the qualifying criteria that was applied to any company awarded such a contract in 2020, 2021 and to date in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60082/22]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that the ‘National Public Procurement Policy Framework’ issued by the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) in November 2019, sets out the procurement procedures to be followed by government departments and state bodies in accordance with EU rules and national guidelines. The public tendering process is facilitated by the national tendering platform, eTenders, for contracts with a value in excess of €25,000 in line with DPER Circular 10/14.

In compliance with ‘Department of Finance Circular 40/02’, my Department returns an annual report to the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), in respect of contracts valued €25,000 or more in aggregate (exclusive of VAT) that were undertaken by this Department without a competitive process. This includes contracts which do not have to go to public tender where it is not required - for example, research and development services which are exempt from the requirement to go to public tender under certain conditions specified in Regulation 14 of the 2016 Regulations.

To assist the Deputy, the appendix below details those contracts granted by my Department relevant to the above years and the reason why the contract in question did not have to go to public tender:

Economic Social Research Institute (ESRI)

In compliance with EU Public Procurement rules, my Department procures research services directly from the Economic Social Research Institute (ESRI) without undertaking competitive tendering processes, as contracts in relation to specified research and development services are excluded from procurement regulations. Payments were made to the ESRI since 2020 to date in respect of the following research projects:

Bloomberg

During 2020, my Department conducted a competitive tendering process to procure ‘market data in real time’services. The tender was published on the national tendering platform www.etenders.gov.ie, however the competition resulted in nil applicants. Access to ‘market data in real time’information is essential to the financial analysis which is undertaken in the Department on a daily basis. As it was not possible to undertake a second competitive tendering process in the timeframe before the existing contract was due to expire, my Department awarded a new contract to the incumbent provider, Bloomberg. The decision to directly award was based on the extreme urgency of ensuring continuity of critical services during the COVID 19 Pandemic and to ensure continued financial analysis and preparation for the January 2021 Brexit date. A two year contract with a value of US$54,000 (approx. €49,000) was awarded. The contract will conclude in December 2022.

Institute of Public Administration (IPA)

In compliance with specific exemptions relating to the procurement of training and educational services from the Institute of Public Administration (IPA), my Department directly procured training courses from the IPA with the following contract values:

Institute of Project Management (IPM)

My Department procures the ‘Diploma in Project Management’ directly from the Institute of Project Management (IPM) and payments since 2020 are tabled below. A competitive tendering process is not undertaken as the IPM is the sole supplier for the provision of this specific course.

Bruegel AISBL – Centre Euro d’Economie

My Department directly procures annual membership from ‘Bruegel AISBL-Centre Euro d’Economie’. Bruegel’s primary objective is to improve the quality of economic policy through research, analysis and debate and membership is critically important for the Department. A competitive tendering process is not undertaken as Bruegel is the sole supplier of the specific services it offers. Annual membership payments since 2020 are tabled below:

Politico

Politico is a provider of online global news media. During 2021, my Department paid two subscription charges to Politico totaling €36,396. A competitive tendering process was not undertaken as payments to Politico are for a specific subscription which can only be provided by this supplier.

The Financial Times Limited

My Department subscribes to two online Financial Times services platforms which provide access to critical international data and analysis. A competitive tendering process was not undertaken as the Financial Times is the sole supplier for these two specific online services.