£185 blackboards will now cost £1,600
May 1976
How could the price of eighteen blackboards for the new classroom block at Wexford Technical School jump from £185.72 each to more than £1,600? That’s the question that puzzling members of the Town of Wexford VEC.
Raising eyebrows also is the fact that site works for the new building will exceed their original estimate by £10,000 as they will now come to some £12,500 instead of the initial figure of £2,478.
Further extra monies for the work will include £1,790 for a specialist geography room and £525 instead of £140 for furnishing the Vice Principal’s office in the new block.
Committee members were astounded to learn of the increases at their monthly meeting on Monday night, and bitterly attacked the system of tendering for such building projects. Several claimed that builders deliberately submitted ‘unrealistic’ tenders in order to try secure the contract.
Councillor T.F. Byrne criticised the architects, who, he said, were supposed to work out all the costs.
Councillor Joe Furlong expressed amazement that one item could jump from £185 to £1,600 and wondered if anyone looked at the tenders to see if there was ‘a measure of realism’ in them.
Ald. Peter Roche said these professional people were being paid high fees for their work, but now the committee was having to turn around and pay out a lot of money. Wages, inflation and materials could not have gone up that much, he declared.
The CEO, Mr Terry McDermott, told the committee that all of these items were covered under the price variation clause in the contract.
As regards the blackboards, it was essential that they get the best type, while it was also necessary to finish off the site better than was envisaged. In addition, no specialist rooms had been allowed for in the original design, but it was ‘absolutely vital’ in this day and age that the school should have a fully equipped geography room.
Mr McDermott said he would be going to the Department of Education himself to try and get sanction for this extra expenditure.