merrion street

Publishing the report today (Tuesday, the 27th of November 2018), the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Richard Bruton T.D. said,

“The government has today accepted the findings of the review of the Independent Process Auditor, Mr. Peter Smyth. In the review, the Independent Assessor said that he was satisfied that neither the former Minister nor Mr. McCourt had the opportunity to influence the conduct of the tender process in favour of Granahan McCourt or otherwise. The independent auditor also found that the decision of the former Minister to resign, thereby removing himself from the process, insulates the process from any apparent bias created by his engagement with Mr. McCourt.

“In considering whether the procurement process was compromised in any way, Mr. Smyth considered whether the former Minister was:
- Privy to any sensitive information that would have been of benefit to Granahan McCourt
- Took any decisions within the process that benefited Granahan McCourt
- Was in a position to influence changes in the Tender Documents
- Was in a position to influence the evaluation of the submissions

“Based on the consideration of these four elements, the Independent Assessor was satisfied that neither the former Minister Denis Naughton, nor Mr. McCourt sought to influence the conduct of the tender process in favour of Granahan McCourt or otherwise.

“The expert procurement team managing the NBP procurement process in my Department has been engaged in the evaluation of the Final Tender received on the 18th of September from the remaining bidder - Granahan McCourt. This will lead to a recommendation to Government as to whether or not to appoint the Granahan McCourt led Consortium as Preferred Bidder in the National Broadband Plan State led intervention procurement process having regard to matters including the maximum subsidy required.
“Since my appointment, my priority has been to bring this process to a fair and impartial conclusion as quickly as possible.
“The government is committed to providing high speed to rural Ireland. When this Government came into office in 2016, 1.2m (52%) had access to high speed broadband. Today 1.7m (74%) of premises can access this service. The government is absolutely committed to reaching the 540,000 premises which will not be reached by commercial operators.
“Finally, I’d just like to sincerely thank the independent assessor for carrying out this review.”

Notes for editor:

Full report can be found here: https://www.dccae.gov.ie/documents/NBP_Procurement_Process_Audit_Report_23_November_2018.pdf


The Independent Assessor:

Mr. Peter Smyth is an independent consultant contracted, following a tender, as Process Auditor in respect of the National Broadband Plan procurement process. (A copy of the detailed terms of reference for the NBP Process Auditor is below.)In that capacity, he is required to confirm that the appropriate guidelines and processes are followed in the procurement of the project. A copy of the detailed terms of reference for the NBP Process Auditor is here.

Mr. Smyth was asked to prepare a report, by the Taoiseach which:

· took account of his ongoing work as Process Auditor, and his detailed knowledge of the procurement process to date;
· considered any implications for the procurement process of the meetings between the former Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, and representatives of the remaining tendering consortium, and
· allowed the Government to assess whether or not the integrity of the procurement process has been undermined by these meetings.

Mr. Smyth was free, at his own discretion, to review all relevant documentation held by the Department and\or to seek written or oral inputs from any relevant parties.

He was not asked, as part of this report, to consider any substantive issues relating to the bid submitted which is the subject of ongoing evaluation by the Department’s Evaluation Team.