Watchdog criticises €1.4m deal for unf it Coast Guard vans
A DAMNING report by the State’s spending watchdog has sharply criticised the purchase of 18 Coast Guard vehicles that were too heavy for use by rescue teams.
The Coast Guard spent nearly €1.4million on the Ford Transit vans that were supposed to cost just €160,000 in total.
It spent over €30,000 on each van to make them suitable for clifftop rescues but then discovered that they were too heavy for volunteers to drive using a normal van licence.
The Comptroller & Auditor General investigation was prompted by media reports that Coast Guard crews were warned not to carry drinking water in the vehicles because they were already illegal to operate given their weight.
The €1.4million spent on the vans comprised €809,000 for the supply of the vehicles and a further €568,000 after it emerged they were unsuitable for cliff-top rescue operations. The average all-in cost was around €76,500 per vehicle.
The investigation found that no cliff rescue team was consulted before the 18 vehicles were purchased for them and that the Department of Trans port, which oversees the Coast Guard, knew after it purchased the first van that it was unsuitable.
It also found serious flaws with the tendering process – especially as the value of the contract was advertised as €160,000 but turned out to cost nearly €1.4million between 2016 and 2020.
The report said: ‘There is no reasonable basis to conclude that the Department [of Transport] conducted a fair and impartial procurement process for the vehicles.
‘Immediately after the contract was signed, issues around the carrying capabilities of the vehicles were identified.' investigators wrote.
A Department of Transport report completed in November 2016, after the first vehicle was delivered, ‘noted that the vehicle had very limited use for a cliff rescue team’.
It is not clear whether the Department of Transport considered varying or halting the procurement in light of the concerns raised.
However, the vehicles were uprated to a higher vehicle weight. The costs associated with the uprating have not been separately identified, investigators found.
The report said that providing such heavy vans for volunteers was impractical from the beginning because a category B driving licence only permits drivers to use vehicles under 3,500kg.
‘In practice, it would be very difficult to find any vehicle that could provide the extensive capability sought by the Coast Guard [crew and cargo carrying, on and off road[ within the desired gross vehicle weight of 3,500kg,’ it said.
It also found that the tender process was completely outside of the normal process.
It found ‘major gaps in the Department’s records’ which it said was ‘unacceptable’.
It added: ‘The understatement of the contract value may have discouraged prospective tenderers and served to limit the extent of competition for the business.’
Last night, a Department of Transport spokeswoman said that the Coast Guard’s procurement processes have been updated ‘as a result of an internal audit and the C&AG special report on the procurement of vehicles’ and the C&AG recommendations are being implemented.
‘The vehicles procured under the contract are currently fulfilling an operational role for the Coast Guard’ and ‘are a considerable improvement on the previous vans in use by cliff rescue teams,’ she said.
ing.’ She described Anne as her friend and love and a ‘beautiful, intelligent woman.’
She added: ‘Forgive me for not protecting you. Every day I hear your call, your screams of panic and pain. Rest in peace. Your mum will always love you.’
Alexandra said she felt time stood still when she heard that Anne, her little sister, was dead.
She described her ‘intense pain’ and heartbreak and recalled going to a Dublin morgue to identify her sister’s body and then to a funeral home to choose a coffin. She went to the apartment where Anne was murdered to gather her things and to the office at Paypal where Anne worked.
‘I saw your mug, your scarf, I have met all of your friends who miss you terribly,’ she said.
She concluded: ‘The more the years go by, the more we miss you. You loved life and the people around you and you had a future.’
Outside court, Alexandra said her sister was a ‘generous lady who loved people and was always smiling’. She also said her sibling ‘was ready to help everyone and was loved by everyone’.
When asked about Renato Gehlen’s attempt to blame Anne for her own death, she said: ‘We couldn’t believe him because we know Anne very well. We knew she wouldn’t do that.’
Alexandra also sent a message to other women who find themselves in controlling relationships that they should not be afraid and to talk to somebody they can trust.