irish courts tender for lotus notes website development and support services

8/9/2019 Irish Courts Tender for Lotus Notes Website Development and Support Services

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Invitation to Tender for Lotus Domino/Notesand web development, support and related services

Courts Service

An tSeirbhs Chirteanna

Open Procedure

November 2007

Issued by : Information & Communications Technology Directorate

The Courts Service

Phoenix House

15-24 Phoenix Street North

Smithfield

Dublin 7

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Contents

Section

Page

a. Conditions of Tender 2

b. Article 45 of EU Directive 2004/18/EC 2

c. Declaration (as per Article 45 of Directive 2004/18/EC) 2

1. Introduction 4

1.3 Scope of Proposals 5

1.4 Query Handling 5

1.5 Tender Submission Details 6

1.6 Opening of Tenders 6

1.7 Interviews, Presentations and Demonstrations 6

1.8 Tender Responses 7

2.10 Classification of Requirement 15

3. Specification of Requirements 17

4.3 Introduction 26

4.4 Service proposal 26

Response to contract management requirements 27

5.1 General 31

THIS FORM MUST BE COMPLETED AND SIGNED BY A DULY AUTHORISED OFFICER

OF THE TENDERERS ORGANISATION 43

APPENDICES 32

a. Conditions of Tender

b. Article 45 of EU Directive 2004/18/EC

c. Declaration (as per Article 45 of Directive 2004/18/EC)

d. Schedule of Costs

e. Freedom of Information Declaration

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f. Tenderers Declaration

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1. Introduction

1.1 Procurement requirements

1.1.1 This document and accompanying appendices and schedules constitute an Invitation toTender for the provision of a range of Lotus Notes based application development and

support services.

1.1.2 The contracting authority for this procurement is the Courts Service. The Information

and Communications Technology Directorate of the Courts Service is undertaking this

competition. The Courts Service is an independent Agency under the aegis of the

Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

1.1.3 The tendered solution may involve the provision of services from either a single party

or a group/consortium of tenderers. Where the solution involves participation by a

group or consortium, a prime contractor within the group or consortium who will beregarded as the tenderer, must host the bid.

1.1.4 Should that group or consortiums bid succeed, the Courts Service will conclude a

contract with the prime contractor only, who will then take full responsibility for all

matters arising under the contract.

1.1.5 Please note that all information relating to this tender, including tender

documentation, clarifications and changes, will be published on the etenders

website (www.e-tenders.gov.ie) only. Registration is free of charge and there is no

charge for documents. The Courts Service will not accept responsibility forinformation relayed (or not relayed) via third parties. If the Invitation to Tender is

in any way altered or edited the subsequent tender may be deemed inadmissible.

1.2 Context

1.2.1 Since establishment the Courts Service has operated a policy of outsourcing in

relation to the provision of IT related services. All application and infrastructure

development, deployment and support is outsourced to a variety of external service

providers with whom the Courts Service has concluded contractual relationships.

1.2.2 In 2004, following an EU procurement, the Courts Service entered into a 3 year

contract with System Dynamics for the provision of a range of Lotus Notes related

application development and support services.

1.2.3 Any new contract awarded as a result of this procurement will replace the current

contract with System Dynamics.

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1.3 Scope of Proposals

1.3.1 Tenderers are required to bid for the entire proposal specified in this document.

Tenders addressing part of the requirement will not be considered.

1.3.2 Whilst every effort has been made to adequately describe the requirements

arising from this procurement, it is for tenderers to gauge the extent of the work effort

and resources needed to meet the requirements.

1.3.3 Tenderers may submit more than one proposal if they wish. However, any

second or subsequent proposal must be prepared and presented under separate cover.

Tenderers should specifically note that multiple responses contained within the same

document will be rejected.

1.3.4 Whereas this Invitation to Tender is issued in good faith, no legitimate

expectation shall arise therefrom and the Courts Service shall not be obliged to award a

contract or proceed to further stages in the procurement process.

1.4 Query Handling

1.4.1 Any requests for clarification in relation to this document and any of the

requirements specified therein must be addressed in writing by letter, facsimile or e-

mail to:

Mr. Eamonn Mooney

Information and Communications Technology Directorate

Courts ServicePhoenix Street North

SmithfieldIE-Dublin 7

Telephone + 353-1-8886831Fax + 353-1-8886729

e-mail [email protected]

1.4.2 Mr Mooney must receive all requests for clarification in relation to this

document in writing by letter, facsimile or e-mail prior to 12.00 noon (local time) on

30 November 2007. Requests received after this date will not be responded to.

1.4.3 Prospective tenderers, in requesting the tender documentation directly from Mr.

Mooney must provide an email address to which all responses to clarifications will be

issued. Where the tender documents are downloaded from the procurement portal

www.e-tenders.gov.ie, responses to clarifications will be issued to the email address

provided on registration with the portal.

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1.4.4 Prospective tenderers should specifically note that where a request for

clarification is received, the details of the request and any responses thereto will be

provided to all tenderers who request the tender document. The prospective tenderer

who raises the request for clarification will not however be identified in clarification

responses issued.

1.5 Tender Submission Details

1.5.1 Four (4) copies of the tender and an additional electronic copy preferably on a

CD- ROM and in Microsoft Word or equivalent format, in a sealed envelope marked

Tender for Lotus Notes and Website support and development services and

addressed to:

Mr. Eamonn Mooney

Information and Communications Technology DirectorateCourts Service

Phoenix Street North

SmithfieldIE-Dublin 7

Telephone + 353-1-8886831

Fax + 353-1-8886729

must be delivered to reach the above address no later than 12 noon (local time) on

20 December 2007. Tenders received after that time will not be considered and will be

returned unopened.

1.5.2 It is the responsibility of the Tenderer to ensure the tender is delivered before the

time and date specified and to make their own arrangements to obtain proof of delivery

by, for example, obtaining a receipt.

1.6 Opening of Tenders

1.6.1 Tenders will be opened in the Information and Communications Technology

Directorate of the Courts Service, Phoenix Street North, Smithfield, Dublin 7, in thepresence of nominated officials of the Courts Service with an independent observer not

connected with the procurement at 14:00 (local time) on 20 December 2007.

1.7 Interviews, Presentations and Demonstrations

1.7.1 The Courts Service at its sole discretion may require tenderers to make a

presentation or show, through demonstration or site visit, their proposed solution.

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1.7.2 Additionally, at its sole discretion, the Courts Service may wish to interview the

key personnel proposed by the tenderer for the project. Accordingly, respondents must

be in a position to make such personnel available for interview at reasonable notice, if

so requested. It is intended that any such interviews will be held at a Courts Service

premises in Dublin.

1.7.3 Respondents will be required to bear their own costs in respect of any such

interviews, presentations or demonstrations.

1.8 Tender Responses

1.8.1 The attention of tenderers is directed to Section 4 of this Invitation to Tender,

which specifies the format for replies. In addition, tenderers should note the following

points in relation to the tender response.

Sections and subsections asking for information from suppliers should be answered

in full.

Tenderers should give their financial proposals as a Schedule of Costs following the

format specified in Section 4.9 of this document.

Tenders, including documentation, must be in English or Irish. Similarly all

tendered documentation must be in either the English or Irish language format.

All prices must be quoted in Euros.

The pages of the tender must be numbered and responded to as directed in Section

4.

1.8.2 Failure to comply with these requirements may result in rejection of the tender.

1.9 Security Clearance

1.9.1 Any person carrying out work on the premises of the Courts Service will be

required to undergo a security check by the Garda authorities. The successful tendererwill be required to supply as a minimum the name, address and date of birth of all

personnel assigned to the project as soon as the contract is awarded. Additional

information may also be requested in this regard. The successful tenderer will also be

required to submit similar details in relation to additional personnel or changes in

personnel occurring during the contract period. Tenderers must confirm that they have

no objection to any security checks deemed necessary by the Courts Service.

1.10 Computer usage policy

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1.10.1 The Courts Service has a computer usage policy in place which outlines the

policy, rules and procedures that apply to the use of Courts Service IT facilities.

Personnel of the successful service provider selected as a result of this procurement

engaged in the delivery of the services sought by this procurement will be required to

confirm acceptance of the terms of the computer usage policy document.

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2. Background

2.1 The Courts Service

2.1.1 The Courts Service was officially established in November 1999 pursuant to the

provisions of the Court Service Act, 1998

2.1.2 The statutory obligations of the Courts Service are defined as follows:

to manage the Courts

to provide support services for the Judges

to provide information on the Courts system to the public

to provide, manage and maintain Court buildings

to provide facilities for users of the Courts

2.1.3 The primary objectives of the Courts Service are as follows:

to provide access to justice which is equitable, efficient and cost effective

to provide qualitative, efficient and cost effective processing of the business of the

Courts

to provide services which are founded upon a strong customer service ethos

2.1.4 The headquarters of the Courts Service are located at Phoenix Street North, Smithfield,

Dublin 7. The Service has a network of administrative offices located in the greater

Dublin area and nationwide with approximately 1100 employees. In addition the

Courts Service provides support services for the Judiciary which comprises 145

members. Further information about the Service can be found on our website atwww.courts.ie.

2.1.5 The Courts Service management structure is headed by a Chief Executive Officer,

supported by seven Directors. The Service is divided into seven Directorates as follows;

Circuit & District Court Operations

Supreme & High Court Operations

Corporate Services

Finance

Human Resources

Information & Communications Technology

Reform & Development

2.1.6 The Courts Service has, since its establishment as an independent agency in 1999,

assumed full operational and management responsibility for the administration of the

Courts

2.2 Information Technology

2.2.1 The development of Information Systems within the Courts Service is directed by the

IT Governing Committee. This Committee is chaired by the Chief Executive Officer.

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2.2.2 The implementation of Information Systems is carried out by the ICT Directorate

located in Phoenix House and supplier project teams. The ICT Directorate assumes

overall management responsibility for the development and procurement of new

systems, support for existing systems (currently managing externally contracted

resources) and the procurement and maintenance of the Services IT assets. It is the

policy of the Courts Service that such services are delivered to the maximum extentpossible by externally contracted IT support services and service providers

2.2.3 The Courts Service published its second 5 year ICT Strategy in

February 2006. A copy of the Plan may be viewed on the Courts Service Website

www.courts.ie.

2.2.4 The Courts Service has implemented a modern information and communications

infrastructure based on the following key technologies:

Windows Server 2000/2003 as the standard network operating system, with Windows

Server 2003 deployed on all recent server installations.

Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 as the standard client operating system with

Windows 2000 Professional deployed on many older laptops. Laptop computers have

been provided to all Judges and to key management personnel.

Lotus Notes as the organisations standard document management and email facility

Microsoft Office XP Standard Edition as the organisations standard office

productivity toolset

Citrix provides standard network connectivity at small local offices nationwide with a

user population of less than 10 users, and is used to publish enterprise Oracle based

applications including the Criminal Case Tracking System (CCTS) and the Courts

Accounting System (CAS).Government Networks Eircom MPLS Business IP+ network is used to provide wide

area network connectivity for the Courts Service to approximately 50 local offices

nationwide.

Oracle as its standard Relational Database Management System. (running under SUNSolaris 5.8)

2.2.5 The standard Courts Service client software suite consists of the following depending

on specific user profile:-

o Microsoft office XP Standard Edition service pack 3

o Lotus Notes version 5.0.8 (currently being upgraded to version 7.0.1 as part of an

ongoing future proofing programme).

o Citrix ICA Client 6.30

o Internet Explorer 6

o Adobe Acrobat Reader 6

o Symantec Antivirus 10

2.2.6 In certain instances non standard client software is also deployed to facilitate the

availability of non standard legacy applications which will be phased out over time, or

to deliver specific functionality to certain business users.

2.3 Lotus Notes Platform

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2.3.1 Since establishment the Courts Service has made a significant investment in Lotus

Notes technology and Lotus Notes continues to be the organisations standard document

management and e-mail facility. Lotus Notes is currently deployed in a single Notes

domain model on all 39 Domino servers and approximately 1,550 desktops (including

laptops). The Courts Service has at any point in time up to 1350 Lotus Notes users. The

higher number of desktops compared to users arises from some users having both adesktop PC and a laptop, and from the presence of additional desktops in courtrooms,

public counters, training facilities etc. The Courts Lotus Notes systems can also be

accessed by staff with PDAs. The Courts Service is in the process of migrating to

Version 7 of Lotus Notes/Domino.

2.3.2 Lotus Notes provides the underlying technical platform for a number of key

developments within the Courts Service which have been implemented over the past 5-6

years as described in section 2.4.2 below.

2.4 Interim Systems

2.4.1 The evolution of a case management system to address the primary operational

requirements of the Courts Service is a key element in the current ICT strategy. This

new system will incorporate the use of appropriate new technologies such as document

management, electronic payments and electronic filing and will be developed using

industry standard components. The initial emphasis will be on the development and

implementation of a new civil case management system for the management of civil

business across all court jurisdictions.

2.4.2 Pending the development of the case management system referred to above the Courts

Service has developed a number of interim systems in Lotus Notes Version 5.0.4 up to

and including Lotus Notes Version 5.0.8 to meet specific business requirements in a

number of Court offices. The following is a summary of the major interim applications

developed in Lotus Notes and deployed throughout the estate.

System No. of Documents

No ofLocations

Changerequests 2

SupportCalls3

Circuit Court Civil (Dublin and

regional)

741,000 26 standalone

and data

dictionaries 1

19 52

Circuit Court Family Law 89,000 26 standalone 8 10

Circuit Criminal Court 175,000 1 16 28Supreme Court 34,000 1 14 6

Court of Criminal Appeal 40,300 1 10 2

Central Criminal Court 6,200 1 0 2

District Court Civil 26,000 2 standalone 1 0

Probate Office 475,000 4 15 replicas 3 38

Wards of Court 130,000 1 5 6

Examiners Office 46,000 5 1 plus 1 data

dictionary

3 2

Official Assignees 8,500 1 0 0

General Solicitors 4,800 1 16 2Taxing Masters 22,000 1 2 2

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1Each of the Circuit Court Civil databases also has an associated Data Dictionarywhich maintains lists such as Judges Names, Solicitors and most commonly used

plaintiffs. Each office records cases on a standalone version of the database for theirjurisdiction.

2 Change requests from January 2006 October 2007. In total there have been 112

change requests in relation to Lotus Notes databases in that period (including smallerdatabases not listed above).

3 Support calls from January 2006 October 2007. In total there have been 164 supportcalls logged in relation to Lotus Notes databases in that period (including smaller

databases and document libraries not listed above).4 The Probate database archives older documents each year to a separate ProbateArchive database. This database currently contains over 67,000 documents. Each

Probate Office uses a replica of the same database and has access to all theinformation entered countrywide.

5 The Examiners Office system incorporates 8 smaller databases and also includes a

Data Dictionary to manage information.

2.4.3 The above applications are centralised workflow application systems designed to track

and monitor the progress of cases through their lifecycle within the Courts and generate

standard court documentation. Standard Notes parent/response document hierarchy and

view navigation features have been used. Functionality provided includes recording

case information, generating court lists, resulting cases and generation of documents,

such as letters and court orders. Typically the type of information found on these

systems includes court dates, case types and status, hearing types, case officers,

registrars, judges, court-rooms, parties involved (names & addresses), court orders and

outcomes/results. Information regarding trials, trial witnesses, number of days a trial

takes and sentencing information is also recorded. In addition, several applications

provide statistical information which is generated through a tied-in Crystal Enterprise

project. All of these databases also have an associated designer template version.

2.4.4 There are many document libraries in various court offices most of which are based on

a standard Courts Service template each of which could have 2,000 - 3,000 documents.

There are also diary systems and smaller databases such as the sick leave databases

maintained by HR in the regional offices. Electronic registers of Personal Injury cases

are maintained which combine data extracted from other databases with newer data

input directly. Other Lotus Notes applications include: Notice Board, Shared

Calendaring Systems for Circuit and Supreme Court offices, an order requests tracking

system for ICT, the Irish Sentencing Information System for the Circuit Court (ISIS)and a register for reserved judgments.

2.4.5 Additionally there is a browser based Courts Links page which provides users with

shortcuts to commonly used applications which are accessible through their workspace

browser e.g. Phone & Email Directory, Payslips system, Funds Accounting System

(FAS) and Mail Manager

2.4.6 The successful tenderer will assume responsibility for the support and further

development of the Lotus Notes applications pursuant to the services which will be

provided arising from this procurement.

2.4.7 All but three of the applications identified at section 2.4.2 are deployed centrally on one

Domino application server located at the organisations central Dublin site. The Probate

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system, the Circuit Court Civil applications and the Circuit Court Family Law

applications are deployed using replica copies of the database or template on local

servers in regional offices. As each office is dependent on these Notes database

applications, it is critical that they are robust and scalable enough to cope with any

potential increase in use. The applications generally enjoy a high level of user

satisfaction.

2.4.8 Support for these applications is currently provided by a Lotus Notes team comprising

internal Court Service resources and contracted external resources (System Dynamics)

providing standard application support in terms of fault analysis and resolution, bug

fixing and general application maintenance and support. In addition these resources

provide an application enhancement and development service. Lotus Notes

administration and network support of the technical infrastructure within the Courts

Service is currently provided as part of an externally contracted managed support

service provided by Fujitsu Services Ltd. All Lotus Notes issues are logged with a

centralised IT Helpdesk provided as part of the managed service and any Lotus Notes

application related problems are passed on to the Lotus Notes team. Tenderers shouldnote that in any contract awarded as a result of this procurement that internal Courts

Service staffwill not be involved in day to day maintenance and support activities

or in the delivery of application development services. Courts Service involvement in

any contract arising from this procurement will be at the contract management level and

will include the management and direction of resources supplied by the successful

service provider.

2.4.9 The Courts Service operates a rigorous change control policy to

manage change to its ICT environment. All change without exception is subject to the

change control policy including changes to the Notes infrastructure and Notes

applications. An online change request system which is available to all staff is used for

the submission, approval and management of change requests. The successful tenderer

selected as a result of this procurement will be expected to comply with the Courts

Service change control policy.

2.4.10 Following impacting, changes and enhancements are made on template versions of the

main databases, with extensive testing required before deployment to the live

environment.

2.5 Courts Service Website: (www.courts.ie)

2.5.1 The Courts Service website is implemented on Lotus Domino R5.0.12 web server

technology. The website comprises 5 Lotus Domino databases, linked together by

means of a central database which determines the website's navigation system and the

Graphical User Interface (GUI) design or "look & feel".

2.5.2 The network topology supporting the website incorporates a number of Lotus Domino

servers, extending from the Courts Service pre-production Domino server through to the

production Domino server(s) in the Local Government Computer Services Board

(LGCSB) located in Conyngham Road, Dublin 8, who are the Courts Services website

hosting partner. The website's databases exist on each of these servers. Scheduled

replication is via Government Networks.

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2.5.3 Content is managed in each of the website's databases via web browser and Lotus Notes

Client interfaces. Content management interaction is restricted to the pre-production

server. Access to the content management interface is governed by Lotus Domino

security layers, which restricts access to specified users and/or user groups. The Courts

Service currently operates an IntraDynamics Content Management Tool (CMT) and

holds a license for this product. Having invested in the CMT the Courts Serviceconsiders it desirable that it be used as part of the service offering. The Courts Service

will, however, consider as part of this procurement a proposal for an alternative content

management tool which prospective tenderers, having regard to their experience and

expertise, feel would best meet the requirements of the Courts Service in this instance.

2.5.4 Site data is transferred from the pre-production server to the production server(s) via

Lotus Notes Domino Hub servers using a secure Lotus Notes replication process on a

defined scheduled basis. Content implemented on the pre-production server will, after a

defined period, automatically appear on the production server(s) where it can be

accessed by users of the Internet.

2.5.5 The Local Government Computer Services Board (LGCSB) supports the hardware and

software on the clustered Domino/Microsoft servers belonging to the Courts Service

which are hosted on their premises.

2.6 Supreme Court Website

2.6.1 The Supreme Court Website is at an advanced stage of development and is expected to

go live in the near future.

2.6.2 The Supreme Court website comprises 2 Lotus Domino databases currently hosted on a

Domino 5.0.12 environment. The Supreme Court database contains all site content,

configuration parameters and the content management tool. The Judgments database

resides on www.courts.ie, and is also presented within the Supreme Court websites

navigational interface.

2.6.3 The site is hosted on the same production servers in LGCSB as the Courts Service

website. The transfer process from pre-production to production server is as described

in 2.5.4 above

2.6.4 Both the above mentioned websites are designed to be compliant with AA accessibility

standards when accessed via the Internet.

2.6.5 Application support for both websites will be required for future fixes/bugs,

development and any other application support related work. Support calls for the

Courts Service website have been logged at between 15-20 per annum for each of the

last few years, which includes a mix of development and infrastructure calls.

2.7 Work in progress

2.7.1 The following development projects are ongoing at present. The successful tenderer will

be expected to assume full responsibility for any elements of the following on going at

the time of contract award:

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District Court Licensing Office system which will record details of annual licence

renewals and exemptions.

Blanchardstown District Court case management system which is based on the system

currently in operation in the Civil Office in Dublin

ISIS (Irish Sentencing Information System) which is a pilot project recording details

of sentences in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Courts.

Circuit Court Criminal Case Management System in Cork.

Database for Health Services Executive cases in the Family Law Courts.

.

2.8 Contract Management and Governance

2.8.1 The Courts Service will appoint a steering committee for the overall management of

any contract awarded as a result of this procurement. It is envisaged the steering

committee will meet on a quarterly basis.

2.8.2 The successful supplier will be expected to appoint a contract manager to assume fullresponsibility for any matters arising under this contract. The Supplier contract manager

will be responsible for ensuring that all services are delivered in accordance with agreed

service levels.

2.8.3 The Courts Service will appoint an internal service contract manager. This individual

will be responsible for the management of the contract from a Court Service perspective

and in accordance with the agreed Service Level Agreement. The contract manager will

also act in conjunction with the successful suppliers contract manager as relationship

manager with appointed senior users across the organisation, internal Courts ICT staff

and other external contractors. It is envisaged that the supplier contract manager and the

Courts Service contract manager will meet on a regular basis.

2.8.4 The Courts Service reserves the right to nominate personnel to work alongside the

supplier personnel in the development of new applications and in such an event the

Courts Service would anticipate that there would be significant skills transfer to Courts

personnel.

2.9 Financial Arrangements

2.9.1 Payment for services covered by this invitation to tender will be on foot of appropriate

invoices. Invoicing arrangements will be agreed with the successful service provider,

following the award of contract. A contract entered into on foot of this Invitation toTender is subject to the Prompt Payments of Accounts Act.

2.10 Classification of Requirement

2.10.1 Throughout section 3 paragraphs are categorised as follows:

Paragraphs marked (M) represent mandatory requirements in respect of the services

required, all of which must be met by Service Providers.

Paragraphs marked (D) represent desirable requirements which should be met by

Service Providers

Paragraphs marked (I) represent requirements for Service Providers to supply

information in response. Often they will follow a mandatory requirement and will be

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evaluated jointly so that it can be clearly demonstrated, without doubt, that the

mandatory requirements can be met and how

Unmarked paragraphs supply information to Service Providers and require no response

2.10.2 In responding to mandatory and desirable requirements, Service Providers must

provide a full response explaining how the requirement will be met. A simple

confirmation that a requirement will be met is not considered to be a satisfactory

response.

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3. Specification of Requirements

3.1 General Requirements

3.1.1 The purpose of this section of the Invitation to Tender is to outline as far as possible therequirements of the Courts Service in relation to the provision of website and Lotus

Notes application development and support services. The Courts Service is seeking to

enter into a contract for such services. The initial contract period will be for a period of

two years with an option to extend the contract, at the sole discretion of the Courts

Service, on an annual basis for a further two years.

3.1.2 Stated simply the requirement arising from this procurement is to:

Support and maintain existing Lotus Notes applications, the Courts Service website

and the Supreme Court website.

Provide application enhancement services in respect of the above.

Develop and subsequently support new Lotus Notes based applications and/or web

developments where required.

Maintain a comprehensive suite of related documentation.

3.1.3 The Courts Service expects the successful tenderer to take an interest in the Services

business success, to be proactive in helping the Service achieve business advantages

from the use of Lotus Domino/Notes, in the area of web development and content

management. This assistance will be essential if the Courts Service is to contribute to,

foster and deliver an excellent level of customer service to a diverse range of

stakeholders both internally and externally.

3.1.4 The successful tenderer will be expected to deliver the services sought in this

procurement at the Courts Service central Dublin site.

3.2 Application and website maintenance and support

3.2.1 (M) The successful tenderer will be required to assume full responsibility for the

maintenance and support of the following:

Interim Systems

Courts Service Website

Supreme Court Website

Content Management Tool (where tenderers propose an alternative to the tool

currently used within the Courts Service, please refer to section 2.5.3 of this

document)

Other applications which may use Notes or related technologies such as XML and

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).

Any additional lotus notes applications or websites deployed between the date of

issue of this document and the award of contract and also during the lifetime of the

contract.

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3.2.2 (M) The successful tenderer will be required to enter into a detailed Service Level

Agreement (SLA) for the period of the contract in respect of the maintenance and

support of the above applications, websites and tools.

3.2.3 (M) Support services required in relation to the systems identified at 3.2.1 include but

are not limited to:-

The provision of technical support to application users,

Problem and fault diagnosis,

Bug fixes,

Performance monitoring,

Tuning applications for optimal performance,

Preventative maintenance,

Routine maintenance and support activities,

Setting up new/changing existing user profiles,

Minor customisations,

Application security, Generation of reports,

Impacting proposed changes,

Liasing with third party vendors,

Problem avoidance advice,

Advice and guidance on usage and maintenance of all application related

documentation.

3.2.4 (M) The application support service must include bug-fixing or other remedial or

correction work, including re-testing, regression testing and associated work, and

resolving as they arise all related configuration and printing issues which may come tolight within the application. All software bugs, configuration or other issues must be

satisfactorily resolved so that the application functions in accordance with specification.

3.2.5 (M) The successful tenderer will be responsible for maintaining the current overall

design of the Courts Service and Supreme Court websites. The design of the existing

sites, including redesigned elements, must continue to meet all of the following criteria:

The requirements of the Courts Service;

Support the required functionality;

Have a graphical layout which is visually to the highest standards;

Cater for users with impaired vision (in terms of text colour and contrast withbackground);

Be easy to navigate for both new and expert users and cater for those who rely on

adaptive technologies; in this context the site must be put through the 'Bobby' test.

Allow for future development and enhancement to the extent that additional features

can be added, if required, with minimal disruption to ongoing service provision;

An Irish language version of each site must be maintained. A certain amount of the

websites have been translated into Irish already and this should be kept consistent

with the English version. Tenderers should note that translation of content is a

matter for the Courts Service to arrange with its contracted service provider and does

not form part of this procurement.

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3.2.6 (I) Tenderers must indicate the content management tool they are proposing as part of

their solution. The content management tool will primarily be used by designated users

of the Courts Service to manage web site content. Where tenderers propose a tool other

than that currently used by the Courts Service (please refer to section 2.5.3) the full

costs associated with the installation and use of the tool must be disclosed in the

schedule of costs. Where tenderers propose retaining the existing tool the CourtsService will meet the annual licence cost relating to this tool, tenderers will however be

expected to assist and co-operate fully with the supplier of the tool to obtain a resolution

to any problems that arise with it.

3.2.7 (I) The successful tenderer must provide a single point of contact to which all support

calls will be reported. Courts Service personnel must be in a position to immediately

report problems between at least the hours of 9:30 am and 5:30 pm Monday to Friday

(excluding public holidays). Additionally Courts Service personnel must have a facility

to report problems outside of these hours when required. Tenderers in responding to this

paragraph must also include the following information:

Procedures proposed for handling calls and resolving problems.

Escalation procedures.

Details of any system that will be used to monitor, track and escalate faults and

problems.

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3.2.8 (M) The following table sets out the service levels which will be required in respect of

the application and website support services. Tenderers are free to offer improved

service levels, if they wish. The Courts Service will agree a final definition of the

various severity levels with the successful tenderer during discussions on the

formalisation of a Service Level Agreement.

The Courts Service expects, in respect of incidents carrying a Level 1 severity

classification which have been reported and remedial action initiated but not completed

during normal working hours, that the support engineer will use their best endeavours to

ensure system availability by 9:00 am the next business day.

Severity

Level

Impact Initial Response Target for

identifying cause

of problem andagreeing/

commencingremedial action

Target for

resolving

problem orimplementing

acceptabletemporary

workaround.

1 System unavailable to all

users

OR

System unavailable to a

member of the Judiciary

or Senior Management

Within 1

working hour,

measured from

time of reporting

(Desirable)

Not greater than

2 working hours,

measured from

time of reporting

(Mandatory)

Within 2

working hours,

measured from

time of reporting

(Desirable)

Not greater than

4 working hours,

measured from

time of reporting

(Mandatory)

Within 4 hours,

measured from

identification of

the problem

(Desirable)

Not greater than

8 hours,

measured from

identification of

the problem

(Mandatory)

2 Major system function

unavailable or total

system unavailable to

10% or less users

Within 2

working hours,

measured from

reporting

(Desirable)

Not greater than

4 working hours,

measured from

time of reporting

(Mandatory)

Not greater than

6 working hours,

measured from

time of reporting

(Mandatory)

Within 24 hours,

measured from

identification of

problem.

3 Minor problems of a

cosmetic or similar nature

Within 2

working days,

measured from

reporting

(Mandatory)

n/a Within 7

calendar days,

measured from

reporting of

problem.

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3.2.9 (I) Tenderers must provide details on the proposed arrangements they would put in

place for unscheduled, out of hours support in exceptional circumstances. Details of the

costs for this exceptional service should be included in the Schedule of Costs (Section

4.8)

3.2.10 (I) Resolution of some support issues may require the successful tenderer to workclosely with technical support staff from particular software manufacturers.

Accordingly, tenderers must specifically outline their support relationship (if any) with

both IBM (in respect of Notes/Domino) and Microsoft Corporation, in response to this

paragraph.

3.2.11 (M) All Notes related problems will initially be screened by technical personnel from

the managed service provider and where the issue is not infrastructure related will be

passed to the successful tenderer selected as a result of this procurement, for resolution.

Tenderers must specifically confirm that they will co-operate fully with the managed

service provider in relation to the investigation and resolution of any Notes or website

related issue.

3.2.12 (M) The supplier contract manager will be required to attend meetings requested by the

Courts Service and submit monthly status reports to include performance against SLA,

outstanding incidents and such other reports as may be requested.

3.2.13 (I) Tenderers must describe in detail how they propose to provide the services sought in

sections 3.2.1 to 3.2.12 and describe the merits of their particular approach in meeting

or exceeding Courts Service requirements. All costs associated with the provision of the

services must be fully disclosed in the schedule of costs.

3.3 Draw down services for application enhancement and development.

3.3.1 (M) In addition to the maintenance and support services the successful tenderer will be

responsible for carrying out various functional enhancements to the Lotus Notes

applications and the development of new applications/facilities to meet evolving

business requirements and furthering the strategic objectives of the Courts Service. The

selected service provider will be required to provide on a draw down basis such

additional personnel as are required to provide such services

3.3.2 (M) At this stage, it is anticipated that additional enhancements may be required to (but

may not be limited to) the following existing applications:

Courts Service Website

Supreme Court Website

Interim systems for example the web enabling of Notes applications.

Other existing Lotus Notes solutions and document libraries.

3.3.3 (M) Services required may also extend to the redesign of the Courts Service and

Supreme Court websites. The design of the existing sites including redesigned elements

must meet the criteria set out at section 3.2.5 of this document.

3.3.4 (M) It is likely that the Courts Service will require the development and deployment ofa number of new applications and possibly websites to meet specific business

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requirements. The additional services required will be delivered in the context of a

complete project lifecycle encompassing the following services:

Formal Project Initiation Document preparation and review

Systems and business analysis

Application design

Application development

Application testing deployment and implementation

Application documentation (including technical documentation)

Project management techniques and processes

3.3.5 (I) Tenderers must provide details of the overall approach they would propose to adopt

to the analysis, design, development and implementation of enhancements or new

applications in accordance with the requirements outlined above. Details must be

provided of the proposed methodologies, including Project Management, and

techniques to be adopted to deliver the requested services.

3.3.6 (I) The proposal must outline the quality assurance procedures in place within the

tendering organisation, including but not limited to the areas of development, documentation

and testing, which will ensure the provision of a high quality service to the Courts Service.

Details of any quality management accreditation or certification should be provided.

3.3.7 (M) As part of the draw down for enhancement and development, tenderers will be

expected to provide additional services including but not limited to:-

Full project lifecycle implementation

Extensive documentation including release notesNew code changes and amendments

3.3.8 (M) Following the implementation of new applications or enhancements to existing

applications the successful tenderer will provide support for such new applications

and/or enhancements as part of its application maintenance and support service as set

out in section 3.2 of this document.

3.3.9 (M) The Courts Service, without commitment, envisages that the application

enhancement and development services required arising from this procurement would

extend to up to 150 days per annum but could be greater or less depending on

circumstances.

3.3.10 (M) The Courts Service will have copyright ownership of any databases and graphics

used on the website.

3.4 Transition services:

3.4.1 (I) Tenderers must describe the arrangements they would put in place to provide for an

efficient and seamless transfer of responsibility for the support and development

services from the incumbent service provider. The Courts Service considers it desirable

that such transfer take place within 3 weeks of contract award. For the purpose ofresponding to this section tenderers should assume that in addition to application and

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website support services, those projects identified at Section 2.7 will be on going at time

of contract award and will fall within the scope of the required transition services.

3.5 General

3.5.1 The performance of the contractor will be monitored by the Courts Service on anongoing basis and regular review meetings will be held between the parties at the

Courts Services Offices located at Phoenix House, 15-24 Phoenix Street North,

Smithfield, Dublin 7.

3.5.2 (M) The contractor will provide service performance reports to the Courts Service each

month and for any other reasonable period, as may be requested by the Courts Service

from time to time.

3.6 Application support and application development teams

3.6.1 (M) Tenderers must provide a support and development team which possesses thenecessary resources, levels of skill, expertise and experience required to successfully

deliver the services sought in this Invitation to Tender to the highest standards.

3.6.2 (I) The tenderer must nominate the primary resources for service areas in their response

and the successful contractor will, in the ordinary course, be expected to keep these

resources in place throughout the contract.

3.6.3 (I) Tenderers must nominate secondary resources which will be sufficient to ensure that

in the event of any member of the primary resource team being unavailable for

whatever reason, the tenderer can continue to provide a high quality service to the

Courts Service.

3.6.4 (M) The Courts Service places considerable value on the benefits accruing from a

dedicated team who are familiar with issues arising and who have the necessary

knowledge and skills to resolve such issues. Tenderers must indicate the procedures

they will put in place to control changes in the membership of the support team during

the duration of the contract. The Courts Service expects that any replacement personnel

will be of a similar or greater skill level to that of the original team member. The Courts

Service must be consulted in the event that the successful supplier wishes to change key

personnel during the assignment. Any change of key personnel will be treated as a

formal change control issue.

3.6.5 (M) The Courts Service expects that proposed personnel must, at a minimum, have

undergone certified training in web application development (HTML/XML/Java) and

Lotus Notes/ Domino application development, LotusScript and system administration.

They must also have at least two years actual work experience on similar type projects

to that envisaged in this procurement working in these areas.

3.6.6 (M) The Courts Service considers that to provide the range of services sought in this

Invitation to Tender the following key skill sets will be required:

Business analysis Systems analysis

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Lotus Domino Design & Development R5 and ND7 and greater

Lotus Domino Systems Administration R5 and greater

Web Design & Development

Project Management

3.6.7 (M) The successful tenderer will be expected to adhere to standards and best practice insoftware development and ensure high quality deliverables.

3.6.8 (I) Tenderers must provide a per man day cost for each of the above skill sets in the

Schedule of Costs outlined in Appendix D of this document.

3.7 Additional Services

3.7.1 (D) In addition to the services requested earlier the Courts Service requires an option,

exercisable at its sole discretion, for a drawdown facility whereby the Service may avail

of additional and related technical, application or web services over the period of thecontract. It is not possible at this time to be specific in relation to the additional services

that may be required but it is envisaged that such services would include the provision

of advice on Notes and web related technologies and initiatives and relate to

maximising and exploiting the use of Notes/ Domino and web technologies, including

new releases and features, within the Courts Service to deliver business benefit and

higher level of customer services. The cost of such optional services must be fully

disclosed in the schedule of costs on the basis of a fixed rate per day.

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4 Function and format of the full proposal

4.1 Format

4.1.1 The Courts Service requires that prospective suppliers respond to this Invitation toTender by submitting a full proposal structured according to the following format:

management summary;

introduction;

services proposal;

response to contract management requirements;

economic and financial capacity;

technical and professional ability.

4.1.2 A brief description of each of the above sections is described below. This is not an

exhaustive description and tenderers are free to include any additional information in

support of their proposal which they may deem relevant. However, the requirement to

respond in accordance with the above structure and to include the following is

mandatory.

4.2 Management summary

4.2.1 This section should be not more than 2 pages providing:

A brief summary of the tenderer or where a consortium is involved a brief summary

of the consortium;

A brief summary of the proposed solution.

A brief summary of previous and relevant experience.

A brief summary in bullet point format of the principal features and advantages to

the Courts Service of the solution proposed in terms particularly of cost

effectiveness and value for money; and

A summary of the costs proposed.

4.2.2 Tenderers will have the opportunity and will be expected to elaborate on each item in

the management summary when responding to the following sections.

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4.3 Introduction

4.3.1 In response to this section the tenderer should provide the following

information:

a. Name, address, telephone and fax number of the tenderer. Name of the person withinthe tender organisation dealing with the response;

b. Name, address, telephone and fax number of any third parties involved in the tender.

Name of the person within any third party organisation dealing with the matter;

c. Identification of prime contractor/party who will carry overall responsibility for the

project;

d. Name of person within the prime contractor who will assume final and overall

responsibility; and

e. Where the proposed solution involves a group or consortium, the role of each member

of the group or consortium in providing the solution should be clearly outlined

f. Confirmation of acceptance by the tenderer and any third parties of the general

conditions of tender described in Appendix A of this Invitation to Tender.

g. A statement from the tenderer that none of the excluding circumstances listed in

paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 45 of EU Directive 2004/18/EC (coordinating procedures

for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service

contracts) applies to them. The said circumstances are outlined in Appendix A. Thedeclaration at Appendix C must also be completed, signed and returned as part of the

tender response.

4.4 Service proposal

4.4.1 Leading on from the introduction, the tenderer should present a detailed

proposal to address the requirements outlined in this Invitation to Tender. In response to

this section it is a matter for tenderers to fully describe the solution they propose. In

response to this section tenderers should take care to ensure that:

Sections and subsections of Section 3 are clearly dealt with in their responses. The

specific section being responded to should be clearly referenced. Tenderers should

ensure that sections are dealt with sequentially in the order in which they appear in this

document.

The specific features and advantages of their solution are fully supported.

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Response to contract management requirements

4.5.1 In response to this section, the tenderer should describe as a minimum the arrangements

which will be put in place for the management of any contract with the Courts Service

with specific reference to roles and responsibilities.

4.6 Economic and Financial capacity

4.6.1 Candidates must provide the following information relating to their financial and

economic standing:

1. Either an appropriate statement from the tenderers bank or alternatively, evidence

of relevant risk indemnity insurance

2. The presentation of balance sheets or extracts from the balance sheets where

publication of the balance sheet is required under the law of the country in which

the tenderer is established

3. A statement of the tenderers -

(i) overall turnover and

(ii) its turnover in respect of the specific services which would be relevant to this

contract

- for each of the previous three financial years.

4.6.2 As provided for in Article 47(2) of Directive 2004/18/EC if, for any valid reason, the

economic operator is unable to provide the references requested at 4.6.1 above, theymay prove their economic and financial standing by production of any other document

which the Courts Service considers appropriate.

4.6.3 The Courts Service requires that each of the references referred to at 4.6.1 above must

be provided unless for any valid reason they are unable to do so.

4.6.4 The Courts Service requires tenderers to meet the following minimum capacity levels in

respect of economic and financial capacity:

a. Candidates must demonstrate that they have professional indemnity insurance in

place

b. Candidates must demonstrate a turnover of at least 500,000 euro per annum over theprevious three financial years.

4.7 Technical and Professional ability

4.7.1 Tenderers must provide the following information to demonstrate their technical and

professional ability

A list of the principal deliveries effected or the main services provided in the past three

years which would be comparable with the support and services required arising from

this procurement with the sums, dates and recipients, whether public or private,

involved. A short description of the main services in each instance must be provided. A

contact name, telephone number and e-mail address should also be provided.

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A statement of the number of employees per annum of the service provider and the

number of managerial staff for the past three years. Information should include a

breakdown between management, administration and technical expertise personnel

available to the tenderer which would be directly related to the services requested in this

document.

The educational and professional qualifications of the service provider or those of the

managerial staff and, in particular, those of the person or persons responsible for

providing the services or managing the work. In this regard Curriculum Vitae must be

provided for key management personnel who will be assigned to manage any contract

arising together with Curriculum Vitae for the key primary and secondary technical

personnel who will be involved in the project. The Curriculum Vitae must specifically

outline their qualifications, skills and experience in the competencies which would be

appropriate to the successful delivery of the services sought in this Invitation to Tender.

The following table should be populated with, as a minimum, examples of 2 previous

projects where the said personnel have provided key services.

Name Service area proposed

and position in

tendering

organisation*

Relevant

qualifications

Previous relevant

experience with site

name and contact

*the tenderer should specify whether the proposed individual is a contractor or

employee.

A statement of the tools, plant or technical equipment available to the service provider

for carrying out the services requested in this document.

A description of the technical facilities and measures used by the service provider for

ensuring quality. In this regard, reference may be made to quality assurance systems

based on the relevant European standards series.

4.7.2 The Courts Service requires tenders to meet the following minimum capacity levels in

respect of technical and professional ability:-

Service providers must demonstrate that they, within the last 3 years have

successfully completed the provision of a range of services generally

comparable to the requested services, utilising personnel with appropriate

qualifications and utilising tools, plant, technical equipment or technical

facilities and measures comparable to those proposed in response to all of

Section 4.7.1 above.

4.7.3 Where a consortium arrangement is proposed all of the information requested in

section 4.6 must be provided in respect of all members of the consortium. Informationprovided in response to section 4.6 relating to consortium members other than the prime

contractor must be clearly identified as such.

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4.8 Schedule of Costs

4.8.1 The Courts Service requires a fixed price contract for all application and website

maintenance and support services required and as outlined in this Invitation to

Tender. The fixed price in relation to draw down services for application

enhancement and development services must be on the basis of a fixed day rate forthe skill sets proposed.

4.8.2 The Schedule of costs must provide full details in respect of all costs, which will be

incurred for the services and facilities offered and must follow the format set out in the

tables in Appendix D.

4.8.3 The content of each Table may be adapted to reflect the particular manner in which

costs would be incurred e.g. additional rows may be added to itemise individual services.

4.8.4 Similarly, rows that are not relevant should be marked as either not applicable or

already included with a reference included. However, every table must be responded to anda total cost must be provided for all the services included in each Table.

4.8.5 All costs must be quoted in (Euro).

4.8.6 The applicable rate of VAT and any other duties or taxes, which would be incurred

must be itemised. Where different rates of VAT or other taxes apply to different services,

these should be clearly indicated.

4.8.7 Tenderers should note that it is the responsibility of the tendering organisation to

ensure that all and any costs associated with the services they propose arising from this

procurement are included in the Schedule of Costs. Tenderers should specifically note that

any costs not included in the Schedule of Costs will be deemed to have been waived.

4.8.8 The Courts Service will not be responsible for any errors in the calculation of the

costs provided in the Invitation to Tender. It is the responsibility of tenderers to ensure that

the costs quoted are correct and calculated properly.

4.9 Presentation of Charges

4.9.1 Table 1 in Appendix D should be populated with the annual fixed charge for the

provision of the application and website maintenance and support services asoutlined in sections 3.2.1 to 3.2.12 of this document.

4.9.2 Sections 2.5.3 and 3.2.6 deal with the content management tool. Table 2 in

Appendix D should be populated with the costs associated with the provision and

support of the content management tool. Where tenderers propose retaining the

current content management tool a note to this effect should be inserted in the table.

4.9.3 Table 3 in Appendix D should be populated with the fixed rate per day for the

identified resources/skill sets.

4.9.4 The requirements in relation to transition services are detailed in section 3.4.1 of thisInvitation to Tender. Table 4 in Appendix D should be populated with the fixed cost

associated with the provision of any transition services considered necessary.

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4.9.5 Table 5 in Appendix D should be populated with the fixed rate per day in respect of

the additional optional services referred to at section 3.7.1 of this document.

4.9.6 Tenderers must indicate the cost associated with providing a callout service for

unscheduled out of hours work in exceptional circumstances.

4.9.7 Tenderers must also indicate the approach they would propose to adopt in the

calculation of equivalent charges should the contract be extended for a further 2

years on an annual basis. The response must give the Courts Service a degree of

certainty in relation to costs for Year 3 and Year 4.

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5 Examination and Evaluation of Tenders

5.1 General

5.1.1 During the evaluation period, clarifications may be sought from tenderers.

Tenderers will be required to provide such clarification in writing. Responses torequests for clarification may not materially change elements of the tenders submitted.

No unsolicited communications from tenderers will be entertained during the evaluation

period. A number of the most competitive tenderers may be invited to make

presentations on their proposals for the purpose of elaboration, clarification and / or

aiding mutual understanding. Invited tenderers must be in a position to make such a

presentation at reasonable notice. Any proposed subcontractors may be required to

participate in the presentation. The Courts Service does not commit itself to accept the

lowest or any of the tenders submitted

5.2 Qualification Criteria

5.2.1 Tenderers to whom any of the circumstances listed in Article 45 of EU

Council Directive 2004/18/EC apply will be excluded from this competition. See

Appendix B.

5.2.2 A full copy of EU Council Directive 2004/18/EC is available at:

http://europa.eu.int/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexapi!prod!

CELEXnumdoc&lg=en&numdoc=32004L0018&model=guichett

5.2.3 A statement on compliance with the above Directive from the main tenderer and anysub-contractors and/or consortium members must be provided with the tender. A copy

of the required Declaration is attached at Appendix C to this document and must be

returned fully completed with response documents. Further proof of compliance may

be sought prior to contract.

5.2.4 Tenderers not so excluded will then be initially evaluated by reference to the following

criteria:-

Completeness of proposal i.e. the proposal must address all of the requirements,

include all information requested and comply with the format of responses

requested in this Invitation to Tender document and where relevant its appendices.

Financial stability by reference to responses provided to Section 4.6.1 above.

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5.3 Award Criteria

5.3.1 The successful tenderer will be selected from the qualifying tenders on the basis of the

most economically advantageous tender applying the following award criteria, listed in

order of priority:

Technical merit and acceptability of proposed solution (350 Marks)

Under this heading tenderers will be evaluated under the following criteria:

o Approach to the delivery of the application and website maintenance and

support services.

o Approach to the delivery of application and website enhancement and

development services.

o Approach to the delivery of transition services.

Cost of the support and development services calculated over a 2 year period

(320 marks)

Tenders shall be assessed on the basis of lifetime costs. Lifetime costs shall be

calculated as the sum of the following:

o Transition costs.

o Cost of application and website maintenance and support services over 2

years.

o Cost of application and website enhancement and development services.

This will be calculated on the basis of a requirement for 120 man days of

application design and development services in each of years 1 and 2.

Demonstrable ability and experience in providing the required services (250

marks)


o Their and the proposed personnels ability and experience in providing:

o Lotus notes based application and website maintenance and support

services.

o Lotus notes based application and website design, development and

implementation services.

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Contract management arrangements and quality assurance procedures in

place within the tendering organisation (80 marks)


o The approach proposed to contract management to ensure the Courts Servicereceives a high quality service throughout the contract period.

o Quality assurance procedures.

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Appendix A: Conditions of Tender

Detailed contractual arrangements are beyond the scope of this document. However,

the following conditions apply in respect of this tender and should be noted andagreed in the response document. The Courts Service will however require that where

appropriate all or some of these terms and conditions will be reflected in the contract

agreed with the successful tenderer.

A1 The Courts Service requires that all information provided pursuant to this Invitation to

Tender will be treated as contractually binding on the tenderer. The Courts Service,

however reserves the right to seek clarification or verification of any such information.

Any such clarification or verification provided shall also be treated as contractually

binding on the tenderer.

A2 It will be a condition for the award of the contract that the successful tenderer will berequired to promptly produce a Tax Clearance Certificate or a C2 certificate from the

Irish Revenue Commissioners. In addition, the successful tenderer must retain the tax

reference numbers of any subcontractors whose payments exceed 650. Where

payments exceed 2,600 in any 12 month period the subcontractor will be required to

produce either a current tax clearance certificate or a current C2 certificate.

A successful non-resident contractor will be required to comply with the tax clearance

requirements set out in circular 43/2006 (Tax clearance procedures Public sector

contracts see below).

Any and all payments under the contract will be conditional on the successful tenderer

being in possession of a valid appropriate certificate at all times.

As an alternative to producing a valid tax clearance certificate the successful tenderer

may authorise the Courts Service to confirm electronically that the successful tenderer

holds a valid tax clearance certificate using the on line verification facility on the

Revenue Commissioners website www.revenue.ie.

It will be a condition for the award of contract that the successful tenderer comply with

the terms of circular 43/2006 (Tax clearance procedures Public sector contracts) which

is available on the Department of Finance website www.finance.gov.ie.

A3 Any Conflicts of Interest involving a tenderer (or sub-contractors in the event of a

consortium bid) must be fully disclosed to the Courts Service, particularly where there

is a conflict of interest in relation to any recommendations or proposals put forward by

the tenderer.

A4 Payment for services provided pursuant to this Invitation to Tender will be on foot of

appropriate invoices. Invoicing arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the

successful supplier in due course and will be subject to the Prompt Payment of

Accounts Act. 1997, (No. 31 of 1997).

The successful tenderer, (where relevant), will be required to pay subcontractors in

accordance with the Prompt Payment of Accounts Act, 1997, (No. 31 of 1997).

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A5 Any registerable interest involving the tenderer and the Courts Service, members of the

Government, members of the Oireachtas or their relatives must be fully disclosed in the

response to this RFT, or should be communicated to the Courts Service immediately

upon such information becoming known to the tenderer in the event of this informationonly coming to their notice after the submission of a bid and prior to the award of the

contract. The terms registerable interest' and relative' shall be interpreted in

accordance with section 2 of the Ethics in Public Office Act, 1994.

A6 The Courts Service proposes to release the

following information relating to this procurement exercise on request:

(a) the name and address of the successful tenderer,

(b) the overall contract value of the successful tender,

and the tenderer consents to such release.

A7 The Courts Service undertakes to hold

confidential any information provided by suppliers in their tender subject to disclosure

of the information specified at (a) and (b) above as being information that will be

released to the public on request to meet the Courts Service obligations under law,

including the Freedom of Information Acts 1997 and 2003.

A8 Tenderers should note that under the Freedom

of Information Acts 1997 and 2003 information provided in their tender may,notwithstanding the foregoing, be liable to be disclosed where the public interest value

of releasing such information is deemed to outweigh the right to confidentiality. The

Courts Service will consult with the tenderer supplying confidential information before

making any decision on releasing such information in response to a request under the

Freedom of Information Acts.

A9 Tenderers are requested to consider if any of

the information supplied in responses to this Invitation to Tender (including that

specified at (a) and (b) above) should not be disclosed because of its sensitivity.

Tenderers should when providing the information, identify this and specify the reason

for its sensitivity. If such information is not identified as sensitive and the CourtsService on consideration does not deem it sensitive, then such information is liable to be

released in response to a Freedom of Information request without further consultation

with the tenderer. The Courts Service will consult with any tenderer about sensitive

information before making a decision on any Freedom of Information request received.

If tenderers consider that none of the information supplied is sensitive, a statement

should be provided to this effect. Such information is liable to be released in response to

a Freedom of Information request. Tenderers will be required to complete the Freedom

of Information Declaration at Appendix E.

A10 Information provided in proposals and in

subsequent clarification discussions and written communications between the partiesincluding prices, contractual options, availability dates and services offered by the

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tenderer will be considered to form part of the basis of any contractual arrangements in

the event of a proposal or proposals being accepted by the Courts Service. The

following will form part of the contract documents:-

this invitation to tender

the tenderers tender documentation modifications and amendments to the above documents formally agreed in

writing between the parties to the contract and

the final terms and conditions agreed between the parties to the contract.

The contract will not be concluded/take effect until 14 days after unsuccessful tenderers

have been notified of the result of this tendering procedure

A11 The service provider will, throughout the period of the contract, comply, and ensure that

its staff and subcontractors comply, with all relevant Health and Safety legislation and

codes of practice issued by the Health and Safety Authority.

A12 The service provider will, throughout the period of the contract, comply with all

statutory requirements attaching both to general and specific work activities, including,

but not limited to, the use of visual display units, manual handling, use of work

equipment, maintenance and construction work.

A13 The service provider will, throughout the period of the contract, ensure that all work is

undertaken safely and does not give rise to health risks.

A14 The service provider will, throughout the period of the contract, ensure that all work

equipment and workplaces, or adaptations of existing work equipment or workplaces,

comply with relevant statutory requirements from the outset and shall produce and

maintain written risk assessments and safety statements for all of its areas of activities.

A15 The service provider will, throughout the period of the contract, comply with, and

ensure that its staff and subcontractors comply with, all relevant employment legislation

including all relevant employment regulation orders in force from time to time and all

codes of practices issued by the Labour Relations Commission.

A16 The service provider will, throughout the period of the contract, ensure that all persons

employed in connection with the provision of services under the contract, are paid rates

of wages, provided pension and other benefits and required to work hours of

employment which are not less favourable than those laid down by any applicable joint

industrial council and/or joint labour committee and set out in a registered employment

agreement. The expressions joint industrial council, joint labour committee and

registered employment agreement will have the meanings set out in the Industrial

Relations Acts 1946 2004.

A17 The service provider will, throughout the period of the contract, ensure that it, and any

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sub-contractors engaged by it, have adequate knowledge of all relevant employment

policies of the Courts Service including, without limitation, health and safety, fire safety

policies and data protection policies. In addition, the service provider, and any sub-

contractors engaged by it, will comply with all reasonable directions of the Courts

Service in relation to the subject matter of those policies and other employment policies.

A18 During the course of the tendering process, tenderers will have access to and be

entrusted with information in respect of the dealings, transactions and affairs of the

Courts Service. All of this information is confidential and the tenderers must not

divulge such confidential information (except in relation to the conduct of the tender)

to any person, corporation or other legal entity or otherwise make use of any

confidential information concerning the dealings, transactions and affairs of the Courts

Service.

A19 The service provider shall be responsible for the whole of the work. The successful

tenderer shall be prohibited from transferring or assigning, directly or indirectly, to any

person or persons, corporation or other legal entity, any part of the whole of the contract

without the prior written approval of the Courts Service. At the time of applying for

prior written approval the successful tenderer will submit a copy of the proposed

contract/agreement that it intends to enter into by way of the transfer or assignment of

its obligations. The proposed contract/agreement will contain a similar restriction to that

outlined above so as to prevent a transfer or an assignment of the obligation so assigned

to another party other than that approved by the Courts Service. Successful tenderers

will be required to comply and ensure that all sub-contractors comply with the general

conditions of contract and in particular the terms relating to compliance with relevant

legislation in particular the Organisation of Working Time, the Health and Safety and

the Data Protection legislation. The service provider will indemnify the Courts Service

in respect of any liability arising from acts or omissions of permitted sub-contractors.

A20 The service provider will indemnify the Courts Service against any liabilities which

may arise by virtue of any action or omission on the part of the service provider or

otherwise which gives rise to either its employees or the employees of any sub-

contractors being construed as an employee of the Courts Service including but notlimited to any claims by any such person arising from termination of the contract or

his/her engagement by the service provider and/or subcontractor including but not

limited to any damages, legal fees and expenses involved in defending such claims

suffered or incurred by the Courts Service.

A21 The service provider will be required on or before the termination of the contract or at

any time upon request to deliver up to the Courts Service all information about its

current workforce, including, without limitation, numbers of employees, capacity in

which employed and length of service. The service provider will also be required toobtain and deliver up to the Courts Service, at any time upon request, similar

information from all sub-contractors.

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A22 The service provider shall comply with, and ensure that all the service providers

personnel and any subcontractors are aware of and comply with, the Data Protection

Acts 1988-2003 as amended.

A23 The service provider shall be responsible for the delivery of all services provided for

within the contract on the basis of a fixed price agreement set at the beginning of the

contract. Prices quoted in the tender cannot be increased during the currency of the

tender. Similarly, terms and conditions cannot be altered.

A24 The Courts Service retains the right to withhold payment and such other remedies

where a contractor has failed to meet his/her contractual obligations in relation to the

delivery of services to an agreed level of quality or otherwise.

A25 The Courts Service will not be liable in respect of any costs incurred by tenderers in the

preparation of tenders or any associated work effort.

A26 Responses to this ITT will be evaluated in their own right. No recognition will be given

to information previously submitted.

A27 The Courts Service is not bound to accept the lowest or any tender submitted.

A28 Tenders must be completed in accordance with the format specified in Section 4.

Tenders which are incomplete will not be evaluated.

A29 Under EU Public Procurement Directives the Courts Service is required to publish a

Contract Award Notice in the OJEU containing certain information, including the name

of the successful tenderer, relating to the award of this contract.

A30 The service provider will warrant and represent to the Court Services that it will

perform its obligations under the contract with the skill, care and diligence to be

expected of an expert supplier of support and development services and provide other

usual warranties and representations in respect of the services. The service providerwill be expected to indemnify the Courts Service against all losses incurred as a result

of any damage to real or personal property belonging to the Courts Service or injury to

persons, including injury resulting in death. The service provider will be required to

take out, at its own cost, the necessary insurance required by the Courts Service to cover

all claims that might possibly arise for it under the contract.

A31 The service provider shall be required to meet the service levels set out in the Service

Le