Legal Services - Establishment of 5 Single-Party Framework Agreements

Tourism Ireland

Tourism Ireland requires legal services in respect of the full range of its core and non-core services. Tourism Ireland wishes to establish five single party framework agreements for legal services, its requirements in this regard have been divided into a number of lots as follows:
Lot 1 - General Operations [Freedom of Information , ICT โ€“ Licensing /Intellectual property /trade marks / copyright, Data Protection, Media / advertising / promotion, Web presence, General legal drafting;
Lot 2 - Properties & Securities [Property โ€“ provenance, leases, deeds, licences, CPO's, Disability Acts, Security and recoupment of monies in cases of non- payment of invoices (debt recovery)];
Lot 3 - Employment Contracts of employment/ contracts for services; Employer Liability Employment Practices Disciplinary and grievance procedures, dignity in the workplace; Acquired Rights/transfer of undertakings; Pensions; Human Resource due diligence including terms and conditions of employment];
Lot 4 - Procurement [Procurement Law; Suitability/Award criteria and potential legal challenges to the award of contracts];
Lot 5 - Specialist Information [High Level/Strategic or reputational issues which may require responses within a very short timescale e.g. due diligence, governance, policy or structural issues; Public, administrative and corporate law; Governance; Dispute resolution].

Deadline

The time limit for receipt of tenders was 2013-09-18. The procurement was published on 2013-08-16.

Who? What? Where?
Procurement history
Date Document
2013-08-16 Contract notice
2013-09-04 Additional information
Contract notice (2013-08-16)
Object
Scope of the procurement
Title: Legal services
Quantity or scope:
Establishment of 5 Single-Party Framework Agreements, each lasting up to a maximum of 5 years; subject to satisfactory performance, budget and other factors.
Notice metadata
Original language: English ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ
Document type: Contract notice
Nature of contract: Services
Regulation: European Union, with participation of GPA countries
Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)
Code: Legal services ๐Ÿ“ฆ

Procedure
Procedure type: Negotiated procedure
Type of bid: Submission for one or more lots
Award criteria
The most economic tender

Contracting authority
Identity
Country: Ireland ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช
Awarding authority type: Body governed by public law
Awarding authority name: Tourism Ireland
Postal address: 5th Floor โ€“ Bishop's Square, Redmond's Hill
Postal code: D2
Postal town: Dublin
Contact
Internet address: http://www.tourismireland.com ๐ŸŒ
E-mail: hhughes@tourismireland.com ๐Ÿ“ง
Phone: +353 14763474 ๐Ÿ“ž
Fax: +353 14763642 ๐Ÿ“ 

Reference
Dates
Date dispatched: 2013-08-16 ๐Ÿ“…
Submission deadline: 2013-09-18 ๐Ÿ“…
Publication date: 2013-08-21 ๐Ÿ“…
Identifiers
Notice number: 2013/S 161-281322
OJ-S issue: 161
Additional information
To receive more information about this tender, including any amendments and/or clarifications and to request any clarifications and/or to respond to this tender, you must register your interest to this tender on the following site: https://irl.eu-supply.com/app/rfq/rwlentrance_s.asp?PID=69314&B=ETENDERS_SIMPLE This notice is being published on a voluntary basis in the OJEU as the framework agreement is for a service shich is a non-priority service (Annex IIB) and therefore not subject to the full rigours of the public procurement directive (2004/18/EC). Interested parties must register their interest on the eTenders website (www.etenders.gov.ie) in order to be included on the mailing list for clarifications. All information relating to attachments, including clarifications and changes, will be published on the Irish Government Procurement Opportunities Portal (www.etenders.gov.ie) only. Tourism Ireland will not accept responsibility for information relayed (or not relayed) via thrid parties. Tourism Ireland will not be responsible for any costs, charges or expenses incurred by candidates or tenderers. Establishment of any of the 5 Frameworks will be subject to the approval of competent authorities. It will be a condition of establishment that tenderers and all sub-contractors produce a valid Tax Clearance Certificate from the Irish Revenue Commissioners as part of their application for admission to the framework. If for any reason it is not possible to admit to the framework agreement the tenderers invited following the conclusion of this competitive process, the Tourism Ireland reserves the right to invite the next highest scoring tenderer to join the framework agreement as appropriate. If, following the conclusion of the competitive process, it is not possible to award the initatial contract to the designated successful tenderer; or if having awarded the initial contract Tourism Ireland considers that the succssful tenderer has not mets its obligations; Tourism Ireland reserves the right to award the initial contract to the framework member with the next hightes score on the basis of the original competition and as tendered by that party. This shall be without prejudice to the right of Tourism Ireland to cancel this competitive process and/or initiate a new contract award procedure at its sole discretion. At its absolute discretion, Tourism Ireland may elect to terminate this procurement process, the framework agreement and any contract awarded under the framework at any time. Without prejudice to the principle of equal treatment, the contracting authority is not obliged to engage in a clarification process in respect of questionnaires with missing or incomplete information. Therefore candidates are advised to ensure that they return fully completed questionnaires in order to avoid the risk of elimination from the competition. Please note that Tourism Ireland does not guarantee that the services will be carried out during the lifetime of the Framework Agreement. One signed original plus two additional hard copies and one soft copy on USB Stick must be delivered by in a sealed envelope/package to the delivery address by the deadline stated in this Contract Notice. Tourism Ireland cannot accept responsibility for applications that are lost or damaged in the post. Late applications will not be accepted. Applications by fax or by email will not be accepted. Tourism Ireland will not be responsible for costs, charges or expenses incurred by participants, whether or not a final contract is awarded. Tourism Ireland is subject to the provisions of the Code of Practice on Freedom of Information for North South Implementation Bodies and Tourism Ireland. Award of this contract will be subject to the winning Tenderer's compliance with the Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 [if based in NI] The contract will be subject to Irish law. Tourism Ireland reserves the right without advance notice (and without giving reasons unless so required by law and without liability to the applicants) to amend or otherwise change the process or to terminate the process. This notice does not represent a commitment to enter into any contract(s).
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Object
Scope of the procurement
Short description:
Tourism Ireland requires legal services in respect of the full range of its core and non-core services. Tourism Ireland wishes to establish five single party framework agreements for legal services, its requirements in this regard have been divided into a number of lots as follows:
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Lot 1 - General Operations [Freedom of Information , ICT โ€“ Licensing /Intellectual property /trade marks / copyright, Data Protection, Media / advertising / promotion, Web presence, General legal drafting;
Lot 2 - Properties & Securities [Property โ€“ provenance, leases, deeds, licences, CPO's, Disability Acts, Security and recoupment of monies in cases of non- payment of invoices (debt recovery)];
Lot 3 - Employment Contracts of employment/ contracts for services; Employer Liability Employment Practices Disciplinary and grievance procedures, dignity in the workplace; Acquired Rights/transfer of undertakings; Pensions; Human Resource due diligence including terms and conditions of employment];
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Lot 4 - Procurement [Procurement Law; Suitability/Award criteria and potential legal challenges to the award of contracts];
Lot 5 - Specialist Information [High Level/Strategic or reputational issues which may require responses within a very short timescale e.g. due diligence, governance, policy or structural issues; Public, administrative and corporate law; Governance; Dispute resolution].
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Lot number: 1
Title of the lot: General Operations
Short description:
This lot comprises the provision of legal advice on contracts, protection of rights, disclaimers and other legal matters relatingโ€ฆ
โ€ฆ to:-Freedom of Information โ€“ as set out in the Code of Practice for North South Implementation Bodies and Tourism Ireland;-Commercial Contracts;-ICT โ€“ Licensing /Intellectual property /trade marks / copyright;-Data Protection;-Media / advertising / promotion;-Web presence;-General legal drafting.It also includes litigation and representation within this lot.
โ€ฆ to:
-Freedom of Information โ€“ as set out in the Code of Practice for North South Implementation Bodies and Tourism Ireland;
-Commercial Contracts;
-ICT โ€“ Licensing /Intellectual property /trade marks / copyright;
-Data Protection;
-Media / advertising / promotion;
-Web presence;
-General legal drafting.
It also includes litigation and representation within this lot.
Lot number: 2
Title of the lot: Property & Securities
Short description:
This lot comprises the provision of legal advice and services relatingโ€ฆ
โ€ฆ to:-Property โ€“ provenance, leases, deeds, licences, CPO's, Disability Acts;-Security and recoupment of monies in cases of non-payment of invoices (debt recovery).It also includes litigation and representation within this lot.
โ€ฆ to:
-Property โ€“ provenance, leases, deeds, licences, CPO's, Disability Acts;
-Security and recoupment of monies in cases of non-payment of invoices (debt recovery).
Lot number: 3
Title of the lot: Employment
Short description:
This lot comprises the provision of legal advice and services relating to:-Contracts of employment/ contracts for services;-Employer Liability Employment Practices;-Disciplinary and grievance procedures, dignity in the workplace;- Acquired Rights/transfer of undertakings;- Pensions;- Human Resource due diligence including terms and conditions of employment.It also includes litigation and representation within this lot.
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-Contracts of employment/ contracts for services;
-Employer Liability Employment Practices;
-Disciplinary and grievance procedures, dignity in the workplace;
- Acquired Rights/transfer of undertakings;
- Pensions;
- Human Resource due diligence including terms and conditions of employment.
Lot number: 4
Title of the lot: Procurement
Short description:
This lot comprises the provision of legal advice and services relating to:-Procurement Law;-Suitability/Award criteria and potential legal challenges to the award of contracts.It also includes litigation and representation within this lot.
-Procurement Law;
-Suitability/Award criteria and potential legal challenges to the award of contracts.
Lot number: 5
Title of the lot: Specialist Information
Short description:
This lot comprises the provision of legal advice and services relating to:-High Level/Strategic or reputational issues which may require responses within a very short timescale e.g. due diligence, governance, policy or structural issues;-Public, administrative and corporate law;-Governance;-Dispute resolution.It also includes litigation and representation within this lot.
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-High Level/Strategic or reputational issues which may require responses within a very short timescale e.g. due diligence, governance, policy or structural issues;
-Public, administrative and corporate law;
-Governance;
-Dispute resolution.
Duration: 60 months
Reference number: CS/LS/2013
Place of performance
Main site or place of performance: Island of Ireland.

Legal, economic, financial and technical information
Conditions for participation
Suitability to pursue the professional activity: Please refer to the documentation available for downloading.
Economic and financial standing: Please refer to the documentation available for downloading.
Minimum level(s) of standards: Please refer to the documentation available for downloading.
Technical and professional ability: Please refer to the documentation available for downloading.
Contract execution
Deposits and guarantees required: Please refer to the documentation available for downloading.
Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them: Please refer to the documentation available for downloading.
Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded:
Candidates for qualification may include individuals, partnerships, limited companies, groupings or any combination of the foregoing with or without legal personality. However, a grouping if successful will be required to establish legal personality in order to enter the framework agreement or deliver any contract. Candidates are reminded that they may rely on the resources of other entities in order to establish the suitability requirements, on condition that they can prove to the satisfaction of the contracting authority that they will have these resources at their disposal when necessary. If the application is from a consortium / joint venture Candidates are required to provide the information requested below separately for each party. The consortium must appoint a single supplier who will assume overall responsibility for delivery, and who is authorised to sign a contract on behalf of all consortia members. The contracting authority will not act as an arbitrator between members of project consortia.
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Other particular conditions:
Candidates must be eligible to provide legal services in Ireland under the terms of the Solicitors Ace 1954 (as amended) and relevant EU law.
Execution of the service is reserved to a particular profession:
Candidates must be eligible to provide legal services in Ireland under the terms of the Solicitors Ace 1954 (as amended) and relevant EU law.
Names and professional qualifications of the staff โœ…

Procedure
Duration of the framework agreement in years: 5
Justification for framework agreement duration over four years: Non-Priority Service (Annex IIB).
Envisaged number of candidates: 5
Date of dispatch of invitations: 2013-10-22 ๐Ÿ“…
Languages
Language: English ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ

Contracting authority
Contact
Contact point: Hannah Hughes

Reference
Identifiers
Reference number attributed by the contracting authority: CS/LS/2013
Additional information
To receive more information about this tender, including any amendments and/or clarifications and to request any clarifications and/or to respond to this tender, you must register your interest to this tender on the following site: https://irl.eu-supply.com/app/rfq/rwlentrance_s.asp?PID=69314&B=ETENDERS_SIMPLE
Show more
This notice is being published on a voluntary basis in the OJEU as the framework agreement is for a service shich is a non-priority service (Annex IIB) and therefore not subject to the full rigours of the public procurement directive (2004/18/EC).
Interested parties must register their interest on the eTenders website (www.etenders.gov.ie) in order to be included on the mailing list for clarifications. All information relating to attachments, including clarifications and changes, will be published on the Irish Government Procurement Opportunities Portal (www.etenders.gov.ie) only. Tourism Ireland will not accept responsibility for information relayed (or not relayed) via thrid parties.
Show more
Tourism Ireland will not be responsible for any costs, charges or expenses incurred by candidates or tenderers.
Establishment of any of the 5 Frameworks will be subject to the approval of competent authorities.
It will be a condition of establishment that tenderers and all sub-contractors produce a valid Tax Clearance Certificate from the Irish Revenue Commissioners as part of their application for admission to the framework.
If for any reason it is not possible to admit to the framework agreement the tenderers invited following the conclusion of this competitive process, the Tourism Ireland reserves the right to invite the next highest scoring tenderer to join the framework agreement as appropriate. If, following the conclusion of the competitive process, it is not possible to award the initatial contract to the designated successful tenderer; or if having awarded the initial contract Tourism Ireland considers that the succssful tenderer has not mets its obligations; Tourism Ireland reserves the right to award the initial contract to the framework member with the next hightes score on the basis of the original competition and as tendered by that party. This shall be without prejudice to the right of Tourism Ireland to cancel this competitive process and/or initiate a new contract award procedure at its sole discretion.
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At its absolute discretion, Tourism Ireland may elect to terminate this procurement process, the framework agreement and any contract awarded under the framework at any time.
Without prejudice to the principle of equal treatment, the contracting authority is not obliged to engage in a clarification process in respect of questionnaires with missing or incomplete information. Therefore candidates are advised to ensure that they return fully completed questionnaires in order to avoid the risk of elimination from the competition.
Show more
Please note that Tourism Ireland does not guarantee that the services will be carried out during the lifetime of the Framework Agreement.
One signed original plus two additional hard copies and one soft copy on USB Stick must be delivered by in a sealed envelope/package to the delivery address by the deadline stated in this Contract Notice.
Tourism Ireland cannot accept responsibility for applications that are lost or damaged in the post.
Late applications will not be accepted. Applications by fax or by email will not be accepted.
Tourism Ireland will not be responsible for costs, charges or expenses incurred by participants, whether or not a final contract is awarded.
Tourism Ireland is subject to the provisions of the Code of Practice on Freedom of Information for North South Implementation Bodies and Tourism Ireland.
Award of this contract will be subject to the winning Tenderer's compliance with the Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 [if based in NI]
The contract will be subject to Irish law.
Tourism Ireland reserves the right without advance notice (and without giving reasons unless so required by law and without liability to the applicants) to amend or otherwise change the process or to terminate the process. This notice does not represent a commitment to enter into any contract(s).
Show more
Source: OJS 2013/S 161-281322 (2013-08-16)
Additional information (2013-09-04)
Object
Notice metadata
Document type: Additional information

Reference
Dates
Date dispatched: 2013-09-04 ๐Ÿ“…
Publication date: 2013-09-06 ๐Ÿ“…
Identifiers
Notice number: 2013/S 173-299136
Refers to notice: 2013/S 161-281322
OJ-S issue: 173
Source: OJS 2013/S 173-299136 (2013-09-04)