At a recent meeting of Cork County council, Councillor Mary Linehan-Foley asked that Cork County Council put measures in place to allow handy men previously employed by Youghal town council to carry out repair / maintenance works to the authority houses.
The councillor told the meeting “I am trying to save a bit of money here. At the moment if there is a house needed to be repaired they are prioritised. At the moment plumbers and electricians are travelling from Cork to Youghal. Local employment is being forgotten. ”
The councillor added that “it could take that plumber or electrician up to an hour to get to Youghal and another 20 minutes to find the house that needs the repair. When they do eventually find the property the repair man ends up calling the local contractor who would have worked for Youghal Town Council to identify where a leek may have come from.”
Council CEO Tim Lucey told the councillor with the establishment of municipalities “all housing became Cork County Councils responsibility. We have contractors employed that’s why those local plumbers are not on the Cork County Council tenders. Council procurement are moving to a national tendering process making it harder for local business tenders.”
When asked by Councillor Linehan-Foley if a service level agreement could be put in place ensuring a contractor must respond in a reasonable time or live within a number of kilometres of the area they are contracted to. Mr Lucey added “the Council has discretion when it tenders but can’t break down tenders. A service response time of a particular nature could be added to tender. “