“Government contracts” is an undeniably boring combination of words.
And it might just be because the phrase itself is so boring that they end up causing the Irish public so much grief.
On Monday, it was confirmed that Western Building Systems had been awarded a €14 million contract to build a new ward at University Hospital Limerick. The contract was awarded by the HSE, and signed back in May.
You may be wondering why the words Western Building Systems sound so familiar. Though, if your child happens to attend any of these 42 schools, you’ll know exactly why.
Following inspection of the 42 schools built by Western Building Systems was inspected, resulting in temporary safety measures in most of them. One school, Ardgillan Community College, remains partly closed, with 200 students displaced.
WBS will now build a 60-bed ward at University Hospital Limerick at a cost of at least €14 million to the Irish public. Your money.
Still bored?
As of right now, Ireland’s Department of Education is suing Western Business Systems, and it will be for a judge to decide WBS’ level of responsibility (if any) for the safety violations. Clearly, the Department of Education believe that the construction company they hired is to blame.
WBS hit back hard earlier this week, arguing that they are the “scapegoat,” accusing the department of “distraction and secrecy.” They have noted the company has “little further understanding nor have had input into this review process – no terms of reference, no independent chair or investigators, nor any international best practice guidance.”
The Tyrone company also came out fighting following the announcement of the UHL contract, noting that following public and private tendering processes this year and last, they were awarded a series of projects, for the Department of Housing amongst others.
WBS also reiterated its desire for the publication of independent report into the schools building programme, commissioned by the Department of Education.
So you might think that, with such tension in the air, that the two parties would have thought twice before choosing to collaborate once more.
Apparently not. WBS, after all, is already involved in the extensions to Crumlin’s Children Hospital and Beaumont Hospital. So the HSE have clearly come to a very different conclusion than the Department of Education.
But we only really scrutinise these government contracts when fundamental infrastructure – schools, hospitals, et al. – start to fall apart.
Is that wise? After all, it would be harder to move patients from an ICU than it is to convince a bunch of kids to leave school early.
So as the government holds one hand out to sue Western Business Systems, its other hand is fishing around for €14 million to give that very same company. Harder to be bored when you’re dumbfounded.
A Limerick TD, Maurice Quinlivan, has hit out at the contract agreed by the HSE and WBS.
“It is very concerning that a company who is currently being sued by the Department of Education have been awarded the contract for the new ward at University Hospital Limerick,” he said.
“We don’t yet know to what extent Western Building Systems was responsible or not, for the building defects found in the 42 schools they built for the State over the past number of years.
“Until these facts are established, I would have assumed current tenders from this company would be under review, and new tenders not accepted, until the full facts are established. I am extremely concerned that this news could result in delays for the new ward, which is critically needed at UHL.”
Elsewhere, social media commentators have been quick to characterise the deal as “Ireland in a nutshell.” Certainly, government contracts have been at the heart of many controversies in the last few years.
At the start of 2017, the government awarded the contract for the National Children’s Hospital to BAM Constructions at a cost near to €1 billion – though the projects original budget was set at €650 million. Budgets, figures, power through. More than two years later, it now seems to be accepted by all parties that the hospital will cost more than €2 billion, making it the most expensive medical facility on earth.
That might wake you up.
Another recent contract scandal – over the National Broadband Plan – claimed the ministership of Denis Naughten. It turned out he’d had four private dinners with David McCourt, of Granahan McCourt, the key bidder in the broadband procurement process. Side note: don’t the words “broadband procurement process” make you want to switch off right now? Just close the article and give up?
That might be part of the problem.
Naughten neglected to tell Taoiseach Leo Varadkar about three of those private dinners, and chose to vacate his office. The contract was thus delayed, the National Broadband Plan has fallen a year behind schedule, and the tender still went to Granahan McCourt anyway.
Major projects falling by the wayside. Kids out of school. Patients on trolleys. Bailing the government out of their own bad decisions.
These are the consequences of poorly handled government contracts. We might not like hearing about them, but until the government is truly taken to task over their dealings, then the public will be dealt a bad hand.
Now, Sauron’s Eye will affix upon Limerick, where UHL saw record overcrowding earlier this year. The hospital serves a catchment area of 400,000, and Mary Fogarty of the INMO has said that 160 additional beds are needed to cope with patient demand.
Words like tender and procurement will make many people change the radio station or flip to the sports pages. Maybe if we started paying closer attention to government contracts, we wouldn’t have so many stories about them.
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