Deal for unusable ventilators went ahead despite red flags

Robert Quirke, president and CEO of Roqu Group. Picture: Julien Behal

The HSE was aware of a number of red flags concerning a deal with an Irish media company to import ventilators from China, but proceeded with the contract as “clinical need outweighs the identified risks”.

A briefing document on the deal prepared by the executive’s head of procurement Sean Bresnan in late March directed that a deal for 1,000 ventilators be concluded with Roqu Media International, a festival management company with no Irish trading history.