Only hours after announcing it, the state agency at the centre of a scandal surrounding the €335,000 taxpayer-funded bike shelter for Leinster House has withdrawn from consideration for a new €600,000 public relations contract, reports RTE.
The OPW invited companies “to submit proposals for advising and supporting the OPW’s communications, digital communications, and public relations (PR) work” on Thursday morning via a notice posted on the e-tenders website.
The contract had a three-year length, and the bidding documents indicated that the expected expenditure would fall between €400,000 and €600,000, reports RTE.
The tender stated that “tenderers must understand that this figure is an estimate only based on current and future expected use” .
“To outline the opportunities and challenges facing the OPW with respect to its public profile and reputation” was one of the four areas that the OPW instructed bidders to address in the paper.
It claimed that “this should demonstrate an understanding of the OPW’s current operating environment, its remit, Government policy, key messages and complexity of its role”, reports RTE.
Less than a day had passed since legislators at the Oireachtas Finance Committee grilled John Conlon, the head of the Office of Public Works (OPW), over the bike shelter expenditure, during which he disclosed the €1.4 million cost of the additional security checkpoint.
But just after 6.30 p.m. on Thursday, the OPW press office indicated that the OPW “is not proceeding with the Communications Request For Tender (RFT) and is reviewing its communication support requirements” in response to a press inquiry over the new contract, reports RTE.
The OPW gave no explanation in the announcement for the decision to reverse course on the PR contract tendering process.
The statement added that “the OPW, like all government bodies, utilises the services of PR/Digital marketing companies to provide specialist expertise as required. The current communications contract is due to expire on 26 November 2024”.
“Strengthening the brand and reputational management for the OPW” was one of the “deliverables” under the contract, according to the earlier version of the tender, reports RTE.
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