The Construction Industry Federation (CIF) will hold of number of seminars in Cork over the coming weeks to advise local contracting firms on how to best place themselves to win public sector building contracts.

The seminar series kicks off on Thursday, August 28 in the Radisson SAS, Cork and will focus on the key area of Pre-Qualification with follow up seminars on New Public Sector Contracts and Domestic and Named/Novated Sub-Contract Documents.

Pre-qualification is the procedure set out in European legislation for the selection of suitable contractors to be invited to submit tenders for publicly funded contracts. The pre-qualification procedure is the first step in a company being short-listed for public sector contracts.

Speaking at the launch of the seminar series, Tom Parlon, CIF Director General said, "Over €1 billion worth of public sector construction contracts were undertaken last year in Cork and throughout the South West Region. These contracts are a vital source of work for Cork construction companies, and help sustain much needed employment in construction in the region.

"However, a number of recent changes to the procurement procedures have made it increasingly difficult for companies to successfully compete for Government contracts. Some of the recent changes include the introduction of new fixed-price and lump sum Government contracts as well as the introduction in the first week of August of new pre-qualification documentation by the Department of Finance."

Continuing, he said, "CIF has been inundated with queries from member companies throughout the country for guidance on how to deal with the new procedures. In addition, CIF has heard first hand of increasingly bureaucratic and onerous tendering and contracting environment, which is something we have taken up directly with Government. We've also devised three seminars for Cork companies that deal in detail with the three key areas of procurement, pre-qualification, public sector contracts and sub-contract documents. Companies who participate in the seminars will be better placed to successfully tender for Government construction contracts".

"There are presently large numbers of people employed in construction in Cork and the wider Southern region and it is vital that public sector construction contracts are rolled out to help sustain this employment as well as make Ireland and key growth regions such as Cork more competitive. Public sector contracts are extremely varied, from heavy civil engineering works on motorways and railway lines, to refurbishments of schools and hospitals. They have the potential to provide work for all skills within the construction industry," he concluded.

Anyone wishing to receive more information about the seminars should contact Lizzie Baxter at 01 4066009.

Comments (0) »

Show/Hide comment form

Name

Email

Title

Comment

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment