In-person Conference
Awarding Public Contracts Skilfully and Lawfully within the Irish Procurement Rules
Court-Proven, Solution-Focused Answers to 7 Thorny Questions: Directly from Ireland’s Most Successful Policy-Makers, Lawyers and Industry Experts
Bookings have now closed for this conference
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Highly recommended
Out of 20,067 evaluation forms, 97.13% said "Yes, I would recommend White Paper to a colleague"
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Information you won't find elsewhere
Our experts talk under Chatham House Rule, so you get the best, most readily usable information they wouldn't share elsewhere
Programme
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09:30
Registration and coffee
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10:00
Chair's Introduction
Awarding public contracts skilfully and lawfully within the Irish procurement rules
Chaired by Éamonn Conlon SC
Éamonn is “pre-eminent - the guru you go to for all the angles.” He drafted the standard form public works contract and advised on the new children's hospital.
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Panel
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Jenny Mellerick, of Central Bank of Ireland
Jenny is a public procurement expert and former partner of McCann FitzGerald. She is highly skilled at advising on effective compliance and legal and project delivery risks.
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Alison Hodge, of National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA)
Alison is an in-house solicitor and the Head of the NTMA Legal Unit. She has practised in the area of public procurement throughout her legal career, both in private practice and within the public sector.
Jenny, Alison and Éamonn will impart practical solutions, take questions and comment on the talks throughout
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10:10
Levelling the playing field
How do you lawfully level the playing field, specify correctly and assess tenders objectively when the incumbent has a favourable position or in-built advantage?
Answered by Anna-Marie Curran of A&L Goodbody
Anna-Marie is one of the 10 "most highly regarded" individuals globally for public procurement. She is advising TII on the Metrolink procurement, the State's largest ever infrastructure project.
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10:50
Abnormally Low Tenders
How do you decide if a tender is abnormally low, and what do you do if it is, supported by practical examples of borderline cases?
Answered by Dorit McCann of Mason Hayes & Curran
Dorit advised the DECC on the national emergency call answering service contract. "She is a stand-out procurement adviser, solution-focused with excellent technical knowledge."
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11:30
Morning coffee
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11:50
Green/Sustainable Procurement
How do you deliver green/sustainable procurement objectives in your supply chain, via procurement strategy alignment, specification enhancement in line with net zero goals and EU legislation?
Answered by Chris Gordon of the Irish Social Enterprise Network
Chris is the CEO of the Irish Social Enterprise Network, Managing Partner of Collaboration Ireland and an expert in how to introduce green/sustainable objectives into public contracts.
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12:30
Non-tangible criteria
How do you incorporate softer, non-tangible criteria into tenders such as social inclusion, diversity, biodiversity, accessibility and social and responsible business conduct, and how do you assess them?
Answered by Orlaith Sheehy of McCann Fitzgerald
Orlaith is a standing procurement advisor to Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the National Transport Authority. "She is acclaimed for her skill in deeply complex public procurement cases.”
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13:10
Lunch
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13:50
Supplier performance
How can you deal with and curtail suppliers who score well on tender submissions but perform poorly on other contracts without making this known at the PQQ stage?
Answered by Kerri Crossen of Philip Lee
Kerri advised HSE on the procurement of a €150 million Community Nursing Unit PPP. "She is practical, hugely knowledgeable and a pleasure to work with.”
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14:30
Framework difficulties
How do you control - and overcome - difficulties with frameworks, including call off contracts, renewal options and exceeding estimated contract values?
Answered by Finola McCarthy of RDJ
Finola is “quite simply an outstandingly good procurement lawyer.” She is vastly experienced in all types of public sector projects from initial procurement through to dispute resolution.
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15:10
Preliminary Market Engagement
Given the new emphasis on preliminary market engagements, how do you ensure equal treatment, avoid undue bidder influence, and lawfully elicit improved and innovative solutions?
Answered by Bruno Herbots of Herbots Solicitors
Bruno is renowned for "his inventive solutions" and for being a highly gifted public speaker. He led the way on the €20m Royal Irish Academy of Music refurbishment procurement.
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15:50
Over-run
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16:00
Close of conference