Minister for Social Affairs Séamus Brennan has expressed concern about an opinion of the Advocate-General of the European Court of Justice in a case involving An Post.
Today's opinion followed the Government's decision in 1999 to extend An Post's contract for the delivery of social welfare payment for a further three years. This decision was referred to the European Commission on the grounds that it did not comply with community public procurement law. The Department has always maintained that no breach of European Community regulations had taken place.
But the Advocate-General said Ireland had failed to comply with its EU obligations by extending the contract without advertising it.
Minister Brennan said that whereas the European Court of Justice agreed with the opinion of the Advocate-General in most cases, this was not always and he did not want to pre-empt that decision.
He has asked departmental officials to examine the detail of the Advocate-General's opinion with particular reference to how it might impact on the future delivery of payment services. The Department expects to receive the Court's judgment in the coming months. The Minister said people would continue to receive their payments as normal. An Post is continuing to provide payment services on an ad hoc basis, and its contract has not been formally extended.
