Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The contract for the provision of Marketing Services to the sport horse sector was awarded to the Irish Horse Board following a competitive tendering process carried out by my Department in accordance with Public Procurement Guidelines.

The Request for Tender required that "the proposed team must include at least one member or contractor with a qualification in Marketing, Business Studies, or Business Management or other relevant disciplines at Diploma/ Certificate/Degree level".

I am satisfied that the Irish Horse Board met this requirement in their tender submission.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I have been informed that the contact details on the FOI website of the Irish Horse Board are outdated. Accordingly, officials in my Department have instructed the named organisation to arrange to have the website amended to reflect the correct contact details.

The Irish Horse Board is a Co-operative Society and compliance with legislation pertaining to both the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) are a matter for the Irish Horse Board.

I have not requested a report on this matter.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1004 and 1005 together.

Following a complaint that was lodged with the EU Commission in March 2018, and following communications between my Department and the Commission, it was agreed that a public procurement process would take place in 2022 in respect of certain services including the provision of Marketing Services for the Sport Horse Sector.

Procurement processes for the provision of Marketing Services for the Sport Horse Sector was carried out by my Department in accordance with National and EU Procurement Guidelines.

The evaluation process comprised of 2 stages as follows:

1) a compliance check where applicants can pass or fail, and

2) evaluation of the submissions of those applicants that pass stage 1.

The compliance check (stage 1) consisted of three Department officials at Higher Executive Officer, Agricultural Inspector and acting Assistant Principal levels. This stage involved assessing if the required documentation and other compliances as outlined in the RFT has been met/submitted with the submission, for example, receipt before closing date, eESPD document received, etc. The personnel carrying out the compliance checks had no other role to play in the subsequent evaluation, review or scoring of the submissions.

The adjudication panel (stage 2) in respect of the tender competition for the provision of Marketing Services for the Sport Horse Sector in Ireland consisted of Chair at Principal Officer level and two outside panellists. The independent evaluation panel were selected for the individual skills and professional expertise they could bring to the process.

I am satisfied that all members of the evaluation team were impartial and independent in the context of the procurement procedure and had the required experience and knowledge to carry out the evaluation.

All members of the evaluation team properly completed confidentiality/conflict of interest declaration forms.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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PQ 1045 refers

Following a complaint that was lodged with the EU Commission in March 2018, it was agreed between my Department and the Commission that a public procurement process would take place in 2022 in respect of certain services including the provision of Marketing Services for the Sport Horse Sector.

A Public Procurement process for the provision of Marketing Services for the Sport Horse Sector was accordingly carried out by my Department, in accordance with National and EU Procurement Guidelines.

The Request for Tenders specified a number of criteria against which tenders meeting the eligibility criteria were assessed.

This assessment was carried out in accordance with Public Procurement Guidelines by an independent assessment panel.

Each eligible tender was required to meet a minimum (pass) mark and, following assessment, the highest overall scoring tender was deemed successful, in accordance with the Guidelines. Accordingly, the contract was awarded to the highest scoring tender, submitted by the Irish Horse Board.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The contract for the provision of Marketing Services to the sport horse sector (as referred to Parliamentary Question No. 157 of 6 March 2024) was awarded to the Irish Horse Board following a competitive tendering process carried out by my Department in accordance with Public Procurement Guidelines.

In accordance with clause 2.16 'Freedom of Information', my officials have consulted with the two Tenderers about the confidentiality or commercial sensitivity of their submissions and the release of this information as requested.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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PQ 1047 refers

Following a complaint that was lodged with the European Commission in March 2018, it was agreed between my Department and the Commission that a public procurement process would take place in 2022 in respect of certain services namely, studbooks, national breeding and marketing.

Following the tendering process the successful tenderers were as follows:

- National Breeding Services – Horse Sport Ireland,

- Marketing Services for the Sport Horse Sector – Irish Horse Board, and

- Provision of Studbook services – Horse Sport Ireland (3 lots).

I am satisfied that the procurement processes for each of the tenders listed were carried out by my Department in accordance with National and EU Procurement Guidelines, including with regard to the management of potential conflict of interests. I am also satisfied that the tender evaluation teams were suitably qualified to carry out their work.

The recruitment of staff is a matter for the Board and the CEO of the organisation named.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The contract for the provision of Marketing Services to the sport horse sector was awarded to the Irish Horse Board following a competitive tendering process carried out by my Department in accordance with Public Procurement Guidelines.

The Request for Tender (RFT) provided details of the award criteria and each tender was evaluated based on the information supplied. The contract was awarded on the basis of the tender meeting the specified criteria in the RFT and being deemed the most economically advantageous tender.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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In January 2022, the threshold beyond which any tender for goods/services must be published in the Official Journal of the EU was revised to €140,000 (ex VAT).

Accordingly, requests for tenders in respect of National Equine Breeding Services and the Marketing Services for the Sport Horse Sector in Ireland were published in the Official Journal of the EU, as follows:

RFT 206629 - National Equine Breeding Services

A Contract Notice (OJEU Notice number 2022/S 025-062734) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union in respect of this tender competition as the estimated value was in excess of the threshold applicable at the time of publication.

RFT 207932 - Marketing Services for the Sport Horse Sector in Ireland

A Contract Notice (OJEU Notice number 2022/S 035-089112) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union in respect of this tender competition as the estimated value was in excess of the threshold applicable at the time of publication.

Finally, no Contract Notice was published in the Official Journal of the European Union in respect of the Studbooks Tender competition, as the estimated value was below the threshold applicable at the time of publication.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I am aware that, as Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, I may appoint up to three Directors to the Board of the named organisation. Currently one Ministerial nominee has been appointed and I have no plans to make any further appointments to the Board.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The contract for the provision of Marketing Services to the sport horse sector was awarded to the Irish Horse Board following a competitive tendering process carried out by my Department in accordance with Public Procurement Guidelines.

The Constitution of the Irish Horse Board was last consolidated in 2011. It lists 22 objectives for the organisation. Several of these objectives are both relevant to the wider Sport Horse industry and the provision of Marketing Services, including, inter alia:

- "to increase the prosperity of those engaged in the horse industry in Ireland by co-operative action in all aspects of the industry including promotion and marketing",

- "to identify markets and help define breeding goals which best serve these markets; to promote the Irish Horse in these markets".

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department provides funding to the named organisation for the purpose of supporting the sport horse sector.

Operational matters are determined by the Board and the CEO of the named organisation. I am advised that, during 2021 and up to January 2022, a HR matter involving the named individual was under active management by the then Board of the named organisation. I am further advised that the matter was brought to a resolution by the named organisation in January 2022 within the budgetary provision made available by my Department.

I can confirm that the named individual was not referred to in the tender submission/s by the second named organisation.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The information requested by the Deputy is included in the attached file.

Organisations delivering services under contract interactions – 2023