Legal challenge to awarding of contract for personal alarms for over-65s

A provider of personal alarms for the over-65s has brought a legal challenge to the awarding of a public contract − worth up to €9 million a year − to two rivals.

Care Direct 24/7 Ltd, Maguiresbridge, Co Fermanagh, has brought the case against Meath County Council, the contracting authority for the service, which is administered by the Pobal local inclusion agency and funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development.

As a result of the challenge, an automatic suspension to the awarding of the contract kicked in under EU Remedies Regulations.

On Monday, Meath County Council asked the Commercial Court to hear an early application to lift the automatic stay.

Judge Eileen Roberts agreed to a request from Nathy Dunleavy, counsel for Meath County Council, to enter the case to the fast track commercial list and she fixed a date later this month for the hearing of the application to lift the stay.

Care Direct says, in its statement seeking a review of the awarding of the contract, that it has been a provider of what has been known as the Seniors Alert Scheme since 2012. The scheme supports eligible over-65s to get monitored personal alarms.

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Care Direct obtained contracts put out for public tender in 2015, 2017 and 2021.

Meath County Council called for tenders for a new contract in June under a draft multi-party framework agreement. The estimated value of the framework was stated to be up to a maximum of €9 million per year over a three year period and within a four year framework. The maximum total value of any services for the whole contract was set at €27 million.

On September 14th, Care Direct said it was notified that while it had been classified for admission to the framework it had been ranked third behind two others and had not been selected for the initial contract. The other two providers were Emergency Response Ltd and Trident Associated Securities Communications Ltd.

Care Direct then brought its challenge claiming, among other things, that Meath County Council failed to comply with the rules of its own competition and that the awarding of the contract to the other two companies was vitiated by manifest error.

It also claimed Meath County Council had wrongfully and/or incorrectly misinterpreted the award criteria and/or sub-criteria from Care Direct and/or the two successful tenderers.