Prison service meat contract awarded to Northern company

THE IRISH Prison Service has awarded a contract for supplying meat to the country’s prisons to a Northern Irish company.

Crossgar, a Co Down-based firm, has been provisionally awarded the contract, due to be announced within two weeks.

It follows the awarding of the contract to supply flour to the Republic’s prisons to Lynas Foodservice, also a Northern Ireland-based company.

The prison service is engaged in seven separate tender competitions for food supplies in the categories of meat, dairy, frozen, dried goods, bread, fruit and vegetables, and cooking oil. All the contracts are currently held by companies based in the Republic. The competitions were advertised on the Government procurement website, e-tenders.gov.ie, and the Official Journal of the European Union.

A prison service spokesman said: “All Irish Prison Service tender competitions are carried out in accordance with domestic and EU law governing the award of public works, public supply and public service contracts.”

The contract for meat supply is estimated to be worth €1.5 million annually. Crossgar has also recently won food contracts with the Health Service Executive and the Irish Defence Forces.

The issue of public sector procurement has been controversial in recent years, with supplier representative groups arguing they cannot compete on cost with businesses from the UK, while public bodies maintain they cannot discriminate in favour of any group of suppliers due to EU law.

In tender competitions for Irish Prison Service contracts, 70 per cent of points are awarded on costs, with 30 per cent on ability to meet delivery requirements and level of resources.

A spokesman for the Irish Farmers’ Association, which represents many of the suppliers, said it was “surprised and disappointed” the contract was not awarded to a supplier in this economy.

“It appears to fly in the face of the commitment in the programme for government which states that the Government will reform public procurement to become a tool to support innovative Irish firms and to allow greater access to Irish small and medium sized businesses.”

The association argues any such tender by a State agency should require Irish produce be supplied. “The Government must revise the terms of tender contracts to reflect this,” the spokesman said.