Roscommon firm to benefit from new council procurement rules
AN unsigned directive to all staff of Mayo County Council that tools and small items can no longer be purchased from local suppliers is still causing some controversy.
A number of councillors angrily maintain the stipulation means the authority is turning its back on businesses who are providing employment and paying rates.
Under new procurement rules, when tools such as shovels, brushes, saws, sledgehammers and pickaxes are required by outdoor staff they will have to be purchased from a firm which is located in Co. Roscommon.
It has emerged that the new supplier will be a company, based at Castlerea Industrial Estate, run by entrepreneur John Murphy and his wife, Lily.
The Murphys started in 1991 by importing and distributing a small range of fixings and fasteners into the Irish retail market.
The range of fixings and fasteners grew and John also expanded his horizons to focus on some key brands for the Irish market.
According to the firm's website, it is now an exclusive distributor to the market for a number of leading European construction and DIY brands, stocking in excess of 20,000 products.
The company operates from a modern, purpose built 35,000 sq. ft. warehouse facility which was built in the IDA Business Park in Castlerea in 2004. From here customer orders are distributed nationwide on a next day delivery basis.
There is a free market environment, council chief executive Mr. Peter Hynes told councillors, noting the fact that Mayo firms are free to compete for business outside the county.
Mr. Hynes said the matter would be placed on the agenda for the February meeting by which time, he promised, a full update on the arrangement would be available.
The issue of outsourcing by the council when it comes to procuring ietms such as shovels, brushes, saws, pickaxes and so on will be further discussed by Mayo County Council at a meeting in the new year.
There seems little chance, however, of the council backtracking on its decision to oursource.
As Mr. Hynes has pointed out, there is an onus on the council to support local business but, on the flip side, the government has laid down strict procurement policies which the council has to abide by.