Sir, – It is shocking to read of secretary general of the Department of Finance John Moran’s contention that the use of resources provided by private sector firms has allowed him to avoid a public procurement process (Business News,May 11th).
If the scale of the work being conducted is such that it would fall within the European directive, it must be recognised that any deliberate attempt to circumvent public procurement rules has been consistently rebuked by the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Furthermore, it is well recognised, that private sector involvement in shared service entities would generally invalidate available exemptions from the requirement to pursue a public procurement procedure. If outside the EU directive, then surely the same principles should hold under national legislation, national guidelines or indeed simply in the pursuit of best practice.
Superficially, it may seem that the altruistic gesture of charitable donations to the public sector in these times of austerity is to be welcomed. But the reality is altogether different on many levels. Even at its most basic, one must question the effect that this will have on firms offering services to the public sector on a commercial basis.
Of course, the use of private sector experience and expertise is to be welcomed, but only in a way which observes the principles of equal treatment and transparency and in ways which do not distort the market. – Yours, etc,