Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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374. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the contracts that have been granted without having to go to public tender; the companies that were granted these contracts and the 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. [60077/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department ensures that there is an appropriate focus on good practice in procurement and that procedures are in place to ensure compliance with relevant guidelines and legislation.

EU and national rules promote an open, competitive and non-discriminatory public procurement regime which delivers value for money. EU Directives declare that there can be legitimate reasons for awarding contracts non-competitively, such as extreme urgency brought about by unforeseeable events or if there is a single supplier to perform the contract. Therefore, a non-competitive procurement is not necessarily non-compliant with procurement rules.

Department of Finance Circular 40/02 requires my Department to report all contracts above €25,000 (exclusive of VAT) awarded without a competitive process to the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) by 31 March of the following year.

Information on all contracts that are Non-Compliant with the Procurement Regulations are detailed in my Department's 2020 and 2021 Appropriation Accounts respectively, as published by the Comptroller and Auditor General, and is subject to Public Accounts Committee scrutiny.

2020

In 2020, 81 contracts with a value of €11,774,607 were awarded without a competitive process and declared on the Circular 40/02 return, as expenditure associated with those contracts exceeded the reporting threshold of €25,000.

Of this, contracts valued at €8,327,906 were considered compliant, as the justification for awarding these contracts without a competitive process fell within the exceptions to open/competitive procurement permitted in national and EU legislation.

The remaining procurement with a value of €3,446,700 was not considered compliant as the circumstances did not include the exemptions allowed under procurement rules.

2021

In 2021, 85 contracts with a value of €12,861,860 were awarded without a competitive process and declared on the Circular 40/02 return, as expenditure associated with those contracts exceeded the reporting threshold of €25,000.

Of this, contracts valued at €9,074,120 were considered compliant, as the justification for awarding these contracts without a competitive process fell within the exceptions to open/competitive procurement permitted in national and EU legislation.

The remaining procurement with a value of €3,787,740 was not considered compliant as the circumstances did not include the exemptions allowed under procurement rules.

2022

Information on 2022 non-competitive procurement will not be available until 2023.

The information in relation to all contracts, including those below the €25,000 threshold, is not readily available in the format requested. Officials in my Department will collate the information and forward it directly to the Deputy.