Ms Niamh O'Donoghue:

It is fair to say that the Department is very aware of its obligations in this regard but there were a number of different reasons which contributed to the number of contracts at this time being out of kilter with what would be our normal practice. The Deputy will be aware that in 2012, the Department integrated a significant number of functions from other organisations, including the HSE, FÁS and other Government Departments. In many instances there were contracts that expired or whatever and we just had not got to the point of regularising all the procurement rules in regard to moving some of these things. I am very happy to report that we have managed that process down very significantly in the intervening period.

In regard to the 22 contracts, in 16 cases we have gone to tender and offered a new contract following a competitive procurement. In one case, because of business continuity and so on, we have only just published a request for tender, RFT, on e-tenders. In another case a request for tender has been drafted and will be issued subject to clearance by the Chief State Solicitor's office. In two cases the requirements of the Department are currently under review in regard to whether we go to the market or not in this space. In the remaining two cases the services are no longer required or else the services involved would be under the procurement thresholds that would require a tendering process.

Regarding the type of issues we are talking about, it was for various reasons. It was issues such as business continuity, sole or limited supplier availability or multiple low value purchases, which racked up over a period and then went over the threshold. We have put quite an effort into regularising our entire approach to procurement, creating a database where we keep value of all procurements and keep note on that and centralising through which procurement operates. Already, we have seen significant improvement, even in regard to 2014, and we will continue that path of improvement in 2015.