Minister entitled to divide public tender for translation services into individual ‘lots’

The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal from the High Court, and affirmed refusal of judicial review of a decision of the Minister for Public Expenditure to publish a request for tenders in respect of “four single supplier framework contracts for the provision of interpretation services (excluding Irish language services)”. The challenge was based on the decision to divide the tender into 'lots', and restricting each tenderer to only one 'lot'. The Court of Appeal agreed with the High Court's findings that the 'one lot rule' was a lawful exercise of discretion aimed at promoting SME participation and preserving market competition. The Court also rejected the company's arguments of irrelevant considerations and objective bias, concluding that the Minister/OGP's decision-making process was legitimate and aimed at creating a legally robust framework.