Peter Curran

Partner

Practice areas

• Commercial agreements
• Infrastructure
• Procurement strategies
• Public procurement

Practice notes

Peter Curran is a Partner in the Projects Group and Head of Public Procurement.

‘Peter Curran is a standout procurement lawyer and one of the leading individuals in the field of procurement law.’ - Legal 500

Market sources give praise for his "extensive knowledge of specialist areas, excellent client engagement and timely provision of advice and information." - Chambers Europe

"He is ideally suited to any audience he works with and can advise on both sides of a public sector case." - Chambers Europe

"one of Ireland's experts on public procurement in the telecoms sector. He uses his great experience in this niche area to forecast, predict and steer how things go." - Chambers Europe

According to Chambers legal directory, "Peter is the go-to lawyer for telecoms companies and public authorities in commercial, regulatory and technical matters in the TMT sector".

"Head of [Public Procurement] department Peter Curran is ‘extremely professional and thorough’ according to his clients, who also praise his ‘excellent knowledge of procurement procedures and law’". Chambers UK

"[Peter Curran] is highly regarded for his experience in advising clients on major projects and PPP/PFI. Peers note his strength in complex procurement for local authorities." - Chambers UK

Sources say: "He is always available and his knowledge of procurement law and practice is second to none. His advice is pragmatic and informed." - Chambers Europe

Peter has extensive experience of advising public and private sector organisations in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland on the procurement of projects and contracts across various sectors, including transport, waste, education, technology, communications, social housing, health and energy. He has advised awarding authorities, funders and bidders on some of the most significant procurement exercises on the island of Ireland in recent years. He also advises on procurement litigation and has been involved in a number of the leading cases, both challenging and defending award decisions. Peter has been recognised for his procurement expertise by leading independent directories such as Chambers UK, Chambers Europe, Legal 500 and Who’s Who Legal. The latter publication ranked Peter among the top five ‘Thought Leaders’ in Europe on Government Contracts.

Peter has a background in technology and communications law, having been legal counsel to Vodafone Ireland for six years. He has extensive experience of advising on regulatory, commercial and contractual matters in the areas of electronic/mobile commerce, data protection and privacy, outsourcing, gaming, broadcasting and telecoms. Peter counts among his clients various Government Departments, leading industry players and a range of other operators active in the ICT sector in Ireland and further afield.

Peter’s recent experience includes advising:

• Office of Government Procurement, the largest central procuring body in Ireland, on the procurement of numerous major frameworks and contracts
• National Treasury Management Agency on defending a legal challenge to a decision to accept a late tender for the Grangegorman PPP project 
• University of Ulster on the successful procurement of key construction and consultancy contracts relating to the development of its new campus in central Belfast (total value c.£250m)
• Northern Ireland education authorities on the successful procurement of next generation technology and communications infrastructure to 1200 schools (C2K Project) (value c.£170m)
• Local authorities on the successful procurement of numerous residual waste, organic waste, recycling, street sweeping services and waste to energy (PPP) projects
• Department for Social Development on its successful procurement by competitive dialogue of medical services to support the social security system in Northern Ireland
• Major US pharmaceutical company on judicial review and procurement challenge to Health Services Board and Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in Northern Ireland
• Telecoms operators and Government Departments in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland on significant commercial projects (including various broadband infrastructure roll-outs) and advising on regulatory/competition law issues
• EirGrid and Réseau de Transport d’Electricité on their ongoing, joint procurement of the Celtic Interconnector, a €1bn electricity connection between Ireland and France
• Vinci and Abtran on their successful joint bid to provide electronic tolling services on the M50, Ireland’s busiest motorway.

Peter Curran and Aine Smith contributed the Irish chapter on public procurement in the 2018 edition of Getting the Deal Through. Click here to read the chapter. (Accreditation: Reproduced with permission from Law Business Research Ltd. This article was first published in Getting the Deal Through – Public Procurement 2018 (Published: July 2018). For further information please visit www.gettingthedealthrough.com.)

Peter Curran and Aine Smith have contributed the Law & Practice section of the Chambers Public Procurement and Government Contracts 2020 Guide. To read this section, please view it here.