THE HSE HAS said it is examining the process around the procurement of a multi-million euro ventilator contract that ultimately saw the medical devices fail quality tests. 

CEO Paul Reid said this afternoon that the HSE is in “detailed discussions” with Roqu, the company involved, about its “contractual obligations”. 

The Irish Examiner reported on Tuesday that HSE paid Roqu €14.1 million in March for the ventilators and that the Dublin-based company is involved with organising festivals in the Middle-East. 

Questions were raised about the deal in the Dáil today, with Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall TD saying that “one must wonder how this contract came to be placed”.

Asked about the issue at a briefing this afternoon, Reid said that the HSE was “following back through that whole process, specifically in relation to the Roqu contract”.

He said there was “a worldwide chase” for ventilators at at time and that the HSE was seeking to double its capacity.  

Reid said the HSE used a number of suppliers to source ventilators and that those from Roqu constituted “a smaller number”.

He said an initial supply of the ventilators in question passed inspections but that: “the full supply that they sent to us didn’t pass the quality test, and they haven’t been deployed”.

“We are in detailed discussions with Roqu around contractual contractual obligations,” he added. 

Raising the issue in the Dáil today, Shortall said there was “a mad scramble to get equipment” but that “lessons need to be learnt”.

“There were decisions taken during that period that I think are questionable. Whatever about that point in March, there should have been lessons learned. While at that point there may have been some justification for bypassing the usual financial controls, we needed to get back on track sooner than we did,” she said.

Answering Shortall today, Tánaitse Leo Varadkar said that the procurement took place in “a pressurised period”.

We saw what was happening around the world with a shortage of ventilators and what that meant in New York, London and other places. Thankfully we never got to that situation in Ireland.

“When it comes to contracts, procurement and so on, that is done at agency level not at a political level. I do not have any particular recollection of any involvement in any contracts related to ventilators but I would have to check my records on that. At the time, we were getting a lot of offers of help.”

Sinn Féin spokesperson on Public Expenditure and Reform, Mairéad Farrell TD, has welcomed news that the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will be investigating HSE procurement contracts in the new year, after a number of recent worrying claims.

Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) Seamus McCarthy told the marquee Public Accounts Committee yesterday that an investigation will be conducted with a view to “a value for money evaluation” and “lessons learned” analysis.

Questions over a number of HSE procurement contracts are also to be examined by the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee.

TheJournal.ie has sought a response from Roqu.