DAA contract award challenged

A company providing cleaning and security services at Dublin Airport has brought a legal challenge after its tender for a €25m contract to provide those and other services over the next five years was rejected.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly yesterday granted an application by Douglas Clarke, counsel for the Dublin Airport Authority, to fast-track the hearing of the action brought against the authority by OCS One Complete Solution Ltd, of Airways Industrial Estate, Dublin, over the awarding of the contract to another company.

The judge also granted an application to join as a notice party to the case the successful tenderer, Maybin Support Services (Ireland) Ltd, trading as Momentum Support, with registered offices at Textile House, Stephens Lane, Dublin.

OCS claims the DAA failed to comply with various requirements of Irish and European law in its conduct of the procurement process. It wants orders including one setting aside and/or permanently suspending the DAA’s decision to award the contract to Momentum Support.

OCS claims, since 2007, it had consistently performed services “to a high standard” at Dublin Airport. In an affidavit, OCS chief executive Cecil Ryan said there are only a small number of services under the new contract OCS does not currently provide to DAA. He believed the contract’s value was some €5m annually.

The DAA had told his company the tender price from Momentum was some €1.2m lower than the ICS tender price, Mr Ryan said. He did not believe it was possible for the contract to be performed at that price on the basis of the DAA’s specifications and requirements as outlined in the request for tender documents.

The DAA denies any failure to comply with Irish or European law and contends the claims in the proceedings are “without merit”.

OCS’s claim that the bringing of the proceedings imposes an automatic suspension of the contract award process was among the reasons the DAA wanted the case fast-tracked.