HSE paid Irish firm €14.1m for ventilators that remain unused
A HSE spokesperson said there 'were issues with the quality of the delivered products' and the ventilators were 'not deployed in clinical settings'.
The HSE paid €14.1m to an Irish company for ventilators from China which were never used due to "issues with the quality".
In March, the HSE recruited an Irish-based events management company, Roqu Media International Limited, to import medical ventilators and other supplies for use in Irish hospitals in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, while five flights worth of supplies were delivered in April, the ventilators were never used.
A HSE spokesperson said there “were issues with the quality of the delivered products” and the ventilators were “not deployed in clinical settings”.
The HSE remains “in continuing discussions” with Roqu to "resolve issues arising”.
Roqu owner Robert Quirke said the issues were due to ventilators requiring “specific ongoing calibration”, adding that “we have previously connected the HSE to the manufacturers for clarification”.
It is unclear what background Roqu, a company with a track record in festival management in the Middle East, had in the procurement of medical products.
In March, the HSE was scrambling for medical supplies in the face of a global shortage and had an urgent need for ventilators for the most vulnerable Covid-19 patients.
Roqu, owned by Westmeath native Mr Quirke and first incorporated in 2017, had no Irish trading history previous to the HSE deal per its 2018 accounts.
Mr Quirke, a 41-year-old former IDA executive who describes himself as the president and CEO of Roqu Group, is also the firm’s sole employee, while the company’s headquarters is based in an apartment complex in Dublin.
The deal with the HSE led to five flight deliveries to Dublin and Shannon airports of over 1.5m pieces of medical equipment, according to Mr Quirke, including ventilators and medical air compressors, intensive care beds, personal protective equipment, and other medical equipment.
It is unclear exactly how many ventilators were delivered. In April, Roqu stated that 200 machines had arrived in Ireland via four flights.
However, in correspondence with the , Mr Quirke said that just 72 ventilators were delivered.
He said that Roqu had made no profit on the deliveries and had “no intention of gaining huge profits from PPE or medical equipment”.
