Booklet deal followed the rules

WE at the National Disability Authority (NDA) would like to welcome Donie O’Leary’s acknowledgement of the work of the authority in his letter (‘Why did disability agency sign up for the Italian job?’, July 16).

The NDA has a role in monitoring the national disability strategy, which is a complex suite of measures designed to improve the inclusion of people with disabilities in Irish society.

The strategy includes three major pieces of legislation, statutory disability plans from six government departments and a multi-annual investment programme for priority disability services.

In early 2007, the NDA, in consultation with the disability sector, decided to publish a booklet, New Disability Plans, to provide a guide for individuals and families on the practical effect of these policy and legislative changes, and where to go for further information.

This booklet was distributed last year to more than 1.7 million homes to give as many people as possible access to this information.

We have received excellent feedback from the public and disability organisations on the booklet.

The NDA, as with any other public body, is subject to national and EU rules on public procurement. Contracts on the scale of this booklet must go to EU tender. When printing the booklet last year, the NDA was therefore obliged to advertise the contract through this EU process and to obtain the best value for money for the Irish taxpayer.

The decision to award the contract to the successful printer was based on the criteria set out in the EU tender document and was carried out in a fair, legal and transparent manner.

The NDA would have been happy to brief Mr O’Leary on these requirements and on the fair and transparent process that followed, had he contacted us first.

His own national body, People with Disabilities in Ireland, would also be fully aware of these public procurement rules.

Copies of the booklet can be downloaded from www.nda.ie, or if any household would like a further copy of the booklet, they should contact the NDA at 01-6080400 or [e-mail].

I hope this clarifies the issue for your readers and, most importantly, people with disabilities and their families in Ireland.

Angela Kerins

Chairperson

National Disability Authority

25 Clyde Road

Dublin 4