The State agency embroiled in controversy concerning a spend of €335,000 on a bike shelter for Leinster House has pulled a tender process for a new €600,000 public relations (PR) contract only hours after advertising it.
On Thursday morning, the Office of Public Works (OPW) placed a notice on the e-tender’s website inviting organisations “to submit proposals for advising and supporting the OPW’s communications, digital communications and public relations (PR) work”.
The duration of the contract was to be for three years and the tender documentation stated the estimated spend would be between €400,000 and €600,000.
In the documentation, the State agency told bidders to address four items and one was “to outline the opportunities and challenges facing the OPW concerning its public profile and reputation”.
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The documentation stated, “this should demonstrate an understanding of the OPW’s current operating environment, its remit, Government policy, key messages and complexity of its role”.
The tender came less than 24 hours after OPW chairman John Conlon appeared before the Oireachtas finance committee to answer questions on the bike shelter expenditure. At that meeting, he revealed that €1.4m had been spent on a new security hut at Government Buildings on Merrion Street Upper.
Asked about the new tender for PR expertise the OPW confirmed shortly after 6.30pm on Thursday it is not now proceeding with the tender and “is reviewing its communication support requirements”.
No reason was provided for the U-turn.
The statement added that “the current communications contract is due to expire on November 26th, 2024″.
The tender earlier stated that the “deliverables” under the contract included “strengthening the brand and reputational management for the OPW”.
The tender stated that “corporate PR is a vital tool to strategically plan and proactively highlight the expert leadership role the OPW plays in several sectoral areas such as heritage management and conservation, climate change analysis and insights, as well as data management and modelling to address flood risk”.
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