The Provision of Secretariat Services [544B]

Section 47 of the 1999 Act, which refers to section 45 of the Electricity Supply Act 1927, gives the Contracting Authority legal powers to decide to grant or refuse to grant a special order on the application of ESB, or of a holder of an authorisation to construct or reconstruct a generating station for the purpose of supply to final customers, or to construct an interconnector, or of a person who has applied for such an authorisation, in certain circumstances. Section 45 of the Electricity Supply Act sets out the legal basis for the compulsory acquisition of any land, easement, or other right over land, or to acquire or use compulsorily any right over land by special order. Section 45 also establishes a procedure for exercising that compulsory acquisition power.

In considering whether or not to grant a special order the Contracting Authority may hold a public inquiry. This legislation can be found on www.irishstatutebook.ie and the revised acts, administrative consolidations of the legislation, can be found on www.lawreform.ie. The Contracting Authority’s objective in publishing this RFT is to procure an external managed service to provide all necessary administrative and processing tasks to enable the review of any application received for a special order(s).

This would include all Programme Management functions and providing all supports required by the Inspector, who will deliver a reasoned report to the Commission for consideration. This RFT seeks to engage suitably experienced organisations who are subject matter experts with extensive knowledge, understanding and experience in:

• administering and overseeing complex projects involving multiple stakeholders
• organising, conducting and reporting on public inquiries for major infrastructure projects, including Compulsory Purchases Orders
• engaging with a wide range of stakeholders, including landowners, government agencies, and semi-state entities
• the preparation of written reports in a timely manner that are clear and concise and presented to the highest professional standard, ready for publication. Experience in considering technical requirements would be beneficial, particularly in relation to electricity networks. For example, engaging with technical experts on the relevance or impact of technical matters. The Secretariat will procure all administrative, logistical, technical and environmental supports where required to complete the Inspector’s review