The private consortium that won the bid to administer the repayments scheme to patients illegally charged for long-stay nursing home care did not submit the lowest tender, it has emerged.
KPMG Accounting Group and McCann Fitzgerald Solicitors were chosen from among seven tendered companies and will receive up to €15 million exclusive of VAT to administer the scheme.
But the "preferred company had the highest combined score", said Minister of State Brian Lenihan, because the award criteria included cost, technical capacity, legal expertise and economic and financial capacity.
He was responding to a Government backbencher, Jim Glennon (FF, Dublin North) who expressed concern about the contract process. Mr Glennon was speaking on behalf of one of the unsuccessful companies "as well as on behalf of some very concerned senior staff members of the Health Service Executive [ HSE]".
"Certain matters have been brought to my attention regarding the administration of that scheme and the award of contracts in that regard which are worthy of pursuit and investigation," Mr Glennon said.
He sought the names and price ranking of the tendering companies and the HSE's policy on outsourcing work relevant to the project, particularly as part of the contract work would now be undertaken in India.
This was "by no means a witch hunt but an entirely legitimate and justified inquiry whose purpose is to ensure that fairness and equity prevailed in the process at all times".
Speaking for Minister for Health Mary Harney, Mr Lenihan said the HSE had not released the costs of the other tenders because they were "commercially sensitive". He added that "the tendering companies were not ranked by price alone, as the award criteria required the contract to be awarded to the most economically advantageous tender while also having regard to the criteria outlined in the advertisement placed in the EU Journal".
Seven companies tendered for the scheme which will administer the repayment of up to €1 billion, €340 million of it this year. They included: Capita; Northgate HR Information Solutions; Fexco Outsourcings Solutions and Mentec; Elision Group; SWS Business Process Outsourcing Limited; Care Charges Refund Scheme Limited, and the successful bidders.
