At Monday’s annual budget meeting of Mayo County Council, county manager, Peter Hynes responded to an allegation from Independent councillor Frank Durcan in relation to a potential irregularity in payments on contract awarded by Mayo County Council. Speaking at the end of the meeting, Mr Hynes told the meeting that, following an internal check a number of years ago a possible contract payment irregularity was uncovered and reported to the councils auditors and to Gardai immediately. He went on to say that “There were comments made to a specific incident and I’m not referring to that specific incident, and I’m specifically not identifying that incident.”
He also said of the possible irregularity that was uncovered that, “It’s the subject of an ongoing investigation, it would be entirely regrettable if irresponsible comment in this chamber had the effect of somewhat prejudicing this issue.”
Earlier on Mr Hynes had told the members that it was not unusual for more than an agreed contracted amount to be paid at the end of a construction project. He told the members, “There were a number of comments made on contracts and I don’t want to be specific on these, they referred to payments above an agreed sum. The comments that were made portrayed a lack of knowledge and understanding of how contracts work and it would be very unusual in my experience for a contract sum not to be exceeded during the course of the contract. When you add in price variation clause over a period to which every contractor is entitled and a certain amount of agreed extra works, of which there is almost inevitably always some. The fact that a contract agreed sum is exceeded is not unusual and anyone whose involved in the construction sector would know that is the case.”
