Ireland – IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support – Modification to contract for Business and Management and ICT Consultancy Services originally awarded in 2021

In June 2021, RTB entered into a contract with Grant Thornton for the provision of Business and Management and ICT Consultancy Services in relation to RTB’s Disputes processes. This contract was put in place for an initial 2 years with the option for two extensions of 1 year each. Both extension options were exercised by the RTB. The initial value of this contact was for €1,000,000. This limit has been reached and a further extension of 50% of the original contract value has now been deemed necessary, bringing the total potential value to €1,500,000. Reasons for modification: The spend on the extended contract was greatly impacted by the facilitation of third party contracting services through which the improvement programme for the RTB’s Disputes processes were funded. Article 72 of the Public Sector Directives permits modifications to contracts and frameworks during their term. It is proposed to apply Article 72 (c) of Directive 2014/24/EU. It should be noted that a new competition for these services has already been initiated, and it is anticipated that this may take at least 6 months to continue the procurement process, award and implement thus underlying the reason for the modification. This is not an award notice, but a modification notice of an existing contract awarded originally in 2021.