Dublin City Council has awarded a contract to Gladstone for the ongoing maintenance and support of the existing Leisure Management system including any required upgrades. This system is key for the operation and support of Dublin City Council Sport and Recreation section facilities. This contract was originally awarded to Gladstone in 2018. This contract is for a period of 2 years with the option to extend for an additional period of 1 year. Dublin City Council is relying on Article 32.2(b) (ii) and (iii) for the award of this contract. Article 32.2 states: The negotiated procedure without prior publication may be used for public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts in any of the following cases: b) where the works, supplies or services can be supplied only by a particular economic operator for any of the following reasons: (ii) competition is absent for technical reasons; (iii) the protection of exclusive rights, including intellectual property rights; The exceptions set out in points (ii) and (iii) shall only apply when no reasonable alternative or substitute exists and the absence of competition is not the result of an artificial narrowing down of the parameters of the procurement;