asked the Minister for Finance if it is regarded as essential that one firm of printers be appointed as printers of the Government; the procedure for appointing official printers; the security and secrecy safeguards required; and if the takeover of a firm of official printers by a foreign company is provided against in contracts of appointment.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Government Printers.
73.
The Deputy is under a misapprehension as there are, in fact, at present 43 firms holding group contracts for Government printing, who were selected on the basis of competitive tenders. All contracts draw the attention of the contracts to the provisions of the Official Secrets Act, 1963 and require contractors to observe special precautions to preserve secrecy. There is no provision in the contracts against takeover by a foreign firm.
The foregoing arrangements apply to parliamentary printing which the Deputy may perhaps have particularly in mind. That work is carried out at present under two contracts placed out to tender every five years. Both current contracts were secured on a competitive basis by one printing firm.
For non-parliamentary printing special arrangements have, as occasion and requires, at times necessarily and unavoidably to be made for urgent printing, which usually involve the selection exceptionally of a firm in a position to undertake work expeditiously.