Dublin Dental Hospital’s €160k Catering Spend Questioned

IRELAND: A Dublin dental training hospital has come under scrutiny for spending €161,202 on catering for staff meetings over four years without adhering to public tendering processes. The Dublin Dental University Hospital (DDUH) purchased artisan teas, coffees, fruit, pastries, milk, and both hot and cold food from six local eateries to provide for employees attending meetings, according to a report published in the Irish Examiner.

The institution, which hosts Trinity College Dublin’s dental school, averaged over €40,000 per year on these services. The expenditures included personalised sandwich orders prepared in advance. Despite the scale of spending, the purchases were not put through a competitive tender process, a requirement under EU rules for public contracts exceeding €25,000.

A spokesperson for the hospital defended the spending, stating: “DDUH consider current levels of expenditure on catering as appropriate,” adding that frameworks provided by the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) are “more suitable for organisations that have on-site catering,” which the hospital lacks.

Broader Procurement Issues

Concerns about the DDUH’s financial governance are not limited to catering. A series of procurement reviews, including one conducted by professional services firm Mazars, revealed gaps in the hospital’s purchasing oversight. The Mazars report concluded that only “limited assurance” could be given regarding the adequacy of DDUH’s procurement practices.

Hospital accounts disclosed that non-compliant procurement increased significantly, from €463,000 in 2021 to €773,776 in 2023. This represented 12.6% of the institution’s total annual expenditure of €6.1 million in 2023.

Mazars identified issues with documentation and compliance. For more than a quarter of the suppliers reviewed, no supporting documentation was available. Some insiders have speculated that up to 75% of hospital purchasing could be non-compliant with public spending rules.

Key Findings on Contract Oversight

Among the critical issues highlighted was the hospital’s dealings with Neil Martin Construction, which received over €1.3 million in 2023. Mazars noted that no contract between the hospital and the construction firm was provided during the review process.

The auditors made seven recommendations aimed at overhauling procurement processes, including:

• Tracking all spending.
• Retaining documentation for every transaction.
• Ensuring suppliers previously used outside public procurement rules are not engaged without proper procedures.

However, a follow-up audit in 2024 revealed that none of these recommendations had been fully implemented. One recommendation, requiring all procurement processes to be documented, showed “no evidence” of compliance. Mazars also found no indication that details of spending or procurement breaches had been reported to the hospital’s audit and risk committee during the first half of 2024.

Management Response and Future Steps

Hospital management has acknowledged the issues raised in the audits, emphasizing that procurement compliance is now a “high priority item” for the institution. They have committed to addressing these shortcomings throughout 2024 and into 2025.

The lack of progress on implementing procurement reforms highlights the challenges facing DDUH in aligning its practices with state and EU spending regulations. The report underscores the need for greater transparency and accountability in the use of public funds.

For more detailed coverage, visit the original article by Cianan Brennan in the Irish Examiner.