Engineer daughter of Irish Water chief employed by consultants linked to controversial Poolbeg project
The daughter of under-fire Irish Water boss John Tierney has been employed for four and a half years by controversial consultancy firm RPS in Australia.
RPS is the consultancy firm, which worked on the Poolbeg incinerator project, under a contract with Dublin City Council that was subsequently investigated by the eU.
John Tierney was Dublin city manager from September 2006 until
‘EU ordered council to
terminate contract’
his appointment to Irish Water in January 2013. An engineering graduate of NUI Galway, Joanne Tierney worked for RPS’s Perth office from February 2010 until October 2014 – changing her role from civil engineer/ hydrologist to water resources engineer in November 2011, according to her online CV. Ms Tierney, one of Mr Tierney’s two daughters, graduated in 2006.
She was an engineer with more than two years’ experience when she was first employed. her experience was mainly gained in Ireland with TOBIN engineers in Galway. RPS has made headlines in Ireland over the long-running Poolbeg incinerator saga.
The firm has received millions of euros in public money under the project – which has been an issue of controversy in the capital for more than 10 years.
Their original contract was for €8.3m but that figure ballooned to almost €30m before the eU stepped in and ordered Dublin City Council to terminate the contract which it deemed ‘illegal and uncompetitive’.
Two senior members of RPS Ireland were appointed to Irish Water when Mr Tierney was appointed chief executive officer. Former managing director of RPS Ireland Jerry Grant is Irish Water’s head of asset management while former head of project communications at RPS Ireland, elizabeth Arnett, is now head of communications and corporate services at the company.
RPS Ireland is also currently carrying out consultancy work for Irish Water on a €262,000 contract.
Attempts to contact Ms Tierney were not responded to. When contacted, Irish Water refused to comment. RPS also made no comment when contacted this weekend.