Brewery calls for fairness over extra council fee
A BREWERY has called on councillors for assistance over the imposition of additional water testing fees by Mayo County Council.
Cillian O’Móráin, a co-founder of Mescan Brewery, Westport, told a West Mayo Municipal District meeting that twice a year, environmental health officers from the HSE take a water sample for testing, which is condition for any food business.
In addition, the brewery do their own in-house testing every month and send those samples out for state testing in Galway.
The brewery, which was founded in 2013, doesn't have access to state services due to their location, including public water, three phase electricity, public sewerage, refuse or good broadband services, although they acknowledged they knew the challenges they would face when setting up their business in Kilsallagh, just over 10 miles west from Westport.
Despite the setbacks, they have solved all the above issues 'without crying about it', including investing €20,000 of their own money for their own water supply.
However, they then received a bill from the council for €870 plus VAT for the two HSE samples and a third sample to be done 'as an audit of the first two' and it felt like 'double taxation' and 'a bridge too far'.
Independent Councillor Christy Hyland said this issue showed the difficulties in setting up a business in rural Ireland.
Head of the MD, Padraic Walsh, said the council is subject to a charge from the HSE for the samples, but Councillor John O'Malley called this additional fee a 'rip-off' and a 'pure sham' as well as the fee being another case of 'jobs for the boys'.
Councillor Brendan Mulroy called the addition of these hidden charges 'a right kicking', saying this is more about the principal of the case than financial.
He believed this is also the start of rural Ireland 'putting its two fingers up at the establishment and not putting up with this' and he would offer his help to them in any way he can.
Councillor Peter Flynn suggested a document be sent out to new businesses, as well as existing ones, to show exactly what costs they would be facing from the local authority.