Written answer
Office of Public Works
OPW requires staff, contractors and consultants to disclose actual or perceived conflicts, which are assessed and managed throughout transparent procurement and subcontracting processes.
219. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the procedures in place for the OPW that helps ensure no conflicts of interest in the subcontracting of work. [75173/26]
Comment on this
The Office of Public Works (OPW) is a scheduled office of Government, and its staff are bound by the statutory obligations set out under the Ethics in Public Office Acts 1995 and 2001, as well as the Civil Service Code of Standards and Behaviour. The OPW operates under a comprehensive Corporate Governance Framework which mandates strict adherence to the Capital Works Management Framework (CWMF) guidelines to ensure absolute transparency and the elimination of conflicts of interest across all stages of procurement, including subcontracting.
As a public body, the OPW is required to comply with all relevant public procurement requirements and the applicable ethical, governance and conflict of interest provisions. These include measures designed to ensure that procurement processes are conducted in a fair, transparent and accountable manner. Under Office of Government Procurement Guidelines, any form of interest which may impinge, or might reasonably be deemed by others to impinge on impartiality should be disclosed in writing to line management. Conflict checks continue throughout the procurement process including at tender evaluation and selection stages. The OPW has formal procedures in place to prevent, identify, manage and record conflicts of interest in procurement and subcontracting-related activity.
Under the OPW Conflict of Interest Policy and Guidelines staff are required to disclose any actual or perceived conflict of interest in writing to the Chair of the Evaluation Team or a Senior Manager at the earliest opportunity, including on recruitment to OPW, before a procurement exercise begins, and whenever circumstances change. This policy applies to all staff, as well as contractors and consultants.
These procedures are designed to ensure that subcontracting and related procurement decisions are made on objective grounds and that any actual or perceived conflict of interest is disclosed, assessed and managed before participation in any procurement evaluation is allowed.