Hundreds of State contracts awarded without tendering 

Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath said the aim of procurement rules is to promote an open, competitive and non-discriminatory public procurement regime that delivers the best value for money. Picture: Brian Lawless

More than €192m worth of State contracts were awarded without tendering in a 12-month period, it can be revealed.

According to figures obtained by the Irish Examiner, 729 contracts valued at more than €25,000 were awarded without a competitive process for 2019.

Procurement and tendering requirements are in place to ensure best value for money for the taxpayer.

Sinn Féin’s public expenditure spokesperson Mairéad Farrell, who received the figures from Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath, said: "I am concerned about the large number of contracts that were awarded without full procurement procedure being followed."

She said in 2019, more than 50% of procurement in the HSE was found to not be fully compliant and this was pre-Covid.

“In order to ensure value for money and best quality service for the taxpayer it is essential that standard procurement procedure is followed. That is why these guidelines are in place,” she said.

Clear guidelines

Clear guidelines exist about State work needing to be tendered for, and there is a requirement for Government departments and offices to report all contracts above €25,000 (exclusive of VAT) awarded without a competitive process to the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) by March 31 of the following year. 

Despite this requirement, Mr McGrath was not able to provide any figures for 2020 or 2021, despite being asked.

Mr McGrath said the aim of procurement rules is to promote an open, competitive and non-discriminatory public procurement regime that delivers the best value for money.

EU directives acknowledge that there can be legitimate reasons for awarding contracts without the use of a competitive process, such as extreme urgency brought about by unforeseeable events or where there is a single supplier to perform the contract.

Mr McGrath said the justification for using non-competitive procurement is a matter for each contracting authority. Contracts awarded without a competitive process should be subject to an internal review.

The Dáil's spending watchdog recently ordered an overhaul of how goods and services are procured by the HSE after an "alarming" level of noncompliance was uncovered.