A premium of as much as 30% or 40% for goods and services was being added to some Galway City Council jobs, as contractors inflate prices of public tenders.

That was the claim made at this week’s local authority meeting by Councillor Alan Cheevers (FF), who said there need to be a streamlining of the Council’s tendering in order to reduce costs for contracts paid for by City Hall.

“The minute Galway City Council come looking for tenders, the price goes up by 30% or 40% from the normal price. Contractors see this as a gravy train. Some of the prices the Council are paying are off the wall,” he told the Tribune afterwards.

Cllr Cheevers said that there were savings to be made in the City Council budget if better prices were got for jobs that go to tender.

Director of Services for Finance, Helen Kilroy, said often the final cost of a job differs from that which is advertised.

For example, she said, in certain jobs such as fencing, it was not just a simple case of providing the materials but there could be considerations such as drainage and other ancillary works that had to be factored into the overall job.
This is a shortened preview version of this story. To read the rest of the article, see the October 13 edition of the Galway City Tribune. You can support our journalism and buy a digital edition HERE.