The Government had not invited tenders for the contract for opinion polls in the run up to the divorce referendum, the Dail Public Accounts Committee heard yesterday.
The secretary of the Department of Equality and Law Reform, Mr Bernard McDonagh, said that the Cabinet sub committee had commissioned one opinion poll in March, 1995. Two further polls had been conducted by the same firm in the autumn and the total value of the contract amounted to more than £50,000.
Mr McDonagh said that the sub committee did not see the need to put the contract out to tender as it had only intended to carry out one poll.