New contract sought for Healthy Ireland survey

“Publication of the next report is scheduled for October 2018.”

However, as the time period covered by the initial contract is now completed, a new tender of contract has been issued, according to the spokesperson.

“An invitation to tender for the conduct of the Healthy Ireland survey was first issued in April 2014 and a contract was subsequently agreed with Ipsos MRBI,” the spokesperson said.

“With due regard for best practice guidelines offered by the Office of Government Procurement (OGP), the contract provided for three waves of the survey to be conducted initially, with an option to extend the contract for a fourth wave under the same terms and conditions.”

The Department told <strong><em>MI</em></strong> that the annual cost of the survey agreed in 2014 for the first four waves was €562,640, excluding VAT. The total cost of the survey since 2014 is €2,250,560.

The annual survey gives an up-to-date picture of the health of the nation and reports on many lifestyle behaviours such as smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, active travel, diet and nutrition, health service utilisation patterns, mental health and sexual health. Approximately 7,500 people aged 15 and over, living in locations across Ireland, are surveyed annually.

When asked whether the survey will continue to be an annual event, the Department spokesperson said: “Governance structures and decisions in relation to the timing, cost and content of the survey are kept under regular review.

“It should be noted that the nature of the tender process provides for the most competitive bid in terms of the cost of the survey and value for money.”

The survey is currently annual, with some modules repeated annually, such as smoking and alcohol consumption.

Other modules vary each year; for example, some modules relating to monitoring of obesity levels are repeated every two years.