Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

398. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will outline the steps his Department takes to ensure that consulting firms do not share confidential information in terms of policy development within his Department with other sections of their business in order to gain competitive advantage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27190/23]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Office of Government Procurement (OGP) is part of my Department and its contracts and standardised template documents contain substantive provisions to address confidentiality and conflict of interest matters. These documents are available at the following link www.gov.ie/en/collection/8ced3-templates-goods-and-general-services/

The Tenderer’s statement constitutes acceptance of the Request For Tender conditions, the Contract Terms and Conditions and the Confidentiality Agreement. As per these conditions, Contractors are required to carry out a conflict of interest check and ensure that any conflicts arising in the course of the contract are raised with the Client. In such circumstances, the Client has grounds to terminate the contract immediately.

In line with the Department’s own internal procurement policy, these standardised templates are utilised by staff when procuring services over the EU Threshold and the provisions addressing confidentiality and conflict of interest are included, as appropriate, in tenders below the EU threshold.