LEGAL WRANGLE WILL NOT HOLD UP £17M WATER CONTRACT
EUROPEAN COURT ORDERS IRISH GOVERNMENT TO STOP THE AWARDING OF CONTRACT AFTER APPEAL
February 1987
THE European bureaucratic legal wrangle which blows up over the pipeline contract for the £17 million Dundalk water augmentation scheme, will not hold up work on the overall project.
The European court of justice in Luxembourg orders the Irish government to stop the awarding of the contract to McInerney Civil Engineering, whose tender of £4.3 million is accepted by Dundalk urban council.
McInerneys are to use Irish-manufactured pipes from Tegral, to draw the water from Lough Muckno, securing 100 jobs at the Drogheda company.
However, the council’s decision is appealed to the European Commission by PJ Walls Ltd., whose lower bid of £3.7 million is rejected on the grounds that the pipes they are to use, from the Spanish firm, Uralita, do not conform to Irish standards.
It is claimed by Walls that conditions attached to the contract, including that the pipes be coated with bitumen, are discriminatory in favour of Tegral.
The European Commission submits that Dundalk urban council breach EEC rules on free movement of goods, by setting specifications for the pipes which can only be met by one Irish firm.
The European court imposes an interim injunction on the awarding of the pipeline contract until 9 March, so that legal complaints can be heard, and the issues examined fully by the court.
Dundalk town clerk, Richard Lynn says that both the Attorney General and the government request that the accelerated system for dealing with such matters be used.
There is a lot of interest in the case, as it could have serious repercussions for a whole range of contracts under EEC control.
There are fears locally the court action will hinder the water augmentation scheme, first mooted in 1973, and only now becoming a reality.
The overall building programme stretches over three-and-a-half to four years, although it is anticipated water will be flowing before then.
The scheme embraces eight or nine contracts, and the pipeline contract is one piece of the jigsaw, so the others can continue around it.
When the court action is settled, the pipeline can be slotted in.
In this way, the work will continue. The hope is an early European court hearing will determine there is no case to be met by the Irish government, and the pipeline contract can proceed as planned.
Meanwhile, it is revealed that Tegral may lay-off up to 100 workers if the contract is not secured. It is the biggest pipe contract in the country at the moment, involving pipes worth £1.6 million.
Tegral have about one-third of the pipes already made, but they are presently lying in storage, pending the outcome of the legal proceedings.
McInerney Civil Engineering adopt a policy of ‘no comment’.
PJ Walls Ltd have little to say, other than to remark they are in a highly competitive business as contractors, and must try to find the best way of putting forward the most competitive bid.