Concerns have been raised in the Dáil over procurement and financial controls after it was reported that the HSE paid €14 million in March for ventilators that were never used.
The Social Democrats co-leader, Róisín Shortall, asked the Tánaiste what he knew about contacts between the company awarded the contract to supply the ventilators, Roqu Media, and the HSE, and whether there was any contact at a political level.
"You would have to wonder how it was that this contract came to be placed. It was placed with a company, Roqu a company that had previously only been known for event management and organising festivals in the Middle East," she said.
"It had a residential apartment address in Dublin City Centre and had one employee who is the owner of the company, Robert Quirke. I want to know how much you know about the awarding of that contract which resulted in the taxpayer being caught for a huge figure of €14m."
"There are serious concerns about this and how it came about," she said.
Deputy Shortall said a subsidiary of the company was involved in developing the health passport app.
"You have to wonder how these contracts are awarded for a company that has no history or apparently no expertise in the health products area."
The Tánaiste, Leo Varadkar, said it was a "very pressurised period" and there was a shortage of ventilators around the world.
"There was a rush on to get the necessary equipment," he said.
He said procurement and contracts are done at an agency level and not done at a political level.
