The SDLP has demanded a public inquiry into the business relationships between the North's tourist board and a private firm owned by its chairman,
The Northern Ireland Tourist Board has come under renewed pressure following new information on the extent of its dealings with the private printing firm, W & G Baird, which is owned by NITB chairman Mr Roy Bailie.
Correspondence between the North's Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment and the Assembly's Public Accounts Committee, seen by The Irish Times, details nine NITB contracts worth almost £1 million, which were awarded to W & G Baird despite lower bids from other companies.
One printing company, Graham & Heslip, which underbid W & G Baird on three occasions, said it had taken legal advice following recent developments. Mr Bailie's company, which had a business relationship with the NITB prior to his appointment to the board in 1994, was also awarded six contracts as the lowest bidder and four without formal tendering, totalling almost £600,000 over six years.
According to the letter from the Department's permanent secretary, dated May 10th, the NITB's reasons for rejecting lower bidders included concerns over one company's quality of work, that a tender did not interpret specifications properly and that the costs of retrieving data from W & G Baird to switch the account were not included.
"While steps were taken to ensure that there was no actual conflict of interest in NITB, following the Department's Internal Audit Service Review the procedures were recognised as inadequate to forestall the possibility of perceived conflict of interest," says the letter.
Earlier this year, the Northern Ireland Audit Office criticised the tourist board for failing to comply with proper procurement procedures or ensuring adequate competition.
Mr John Dallat of the SDLP, a member of the Public Accounts Committee, yesterday said a public inquiry was the "only way of bringing this saga to a satisfactory conclusion".
He said other print companies who underbid W & G Baird continued to win contracts with other major customers from 1994 to 2000 but were nevertheless rejected by the NITB.
"The Public Accounts Committee had done an excellent job in scrutinising reports prepared by the Comptroller and Auditor General but its remit does not allow it to call witnesses from the past," said Mr Dallat.
"The fact that the chairman of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, Roy Bailie, is also a director of W & G Baird complicates any inquiry because of the possible conflict of interest.
"No one is suggesting Mr Bailie in anyway influenced decisions but getting to the bottom of all this would be infinitely easier if that possible conflict of interests element was not present." The NITB spokeswoman, who said she was responding on behalf of Mr Bailie, said since 1999/2000 the British Government Purchasing Agency procured all print for the board following an appraisal by the audit service at the NITB's request.
"The NITB acknowledges that in the past it failed to adhere to best practice in purchasing procedures and has already taken action to ensure that all future procurement is conducted in accordance with government guidelines," she added.