Council silent over €123m Gama deal for Ennis bypass

Clare Co Council yesterday refused to comment on their secret deliberations on the €123 million contract with Gama Construction to build the Ennis bypass.

On Monday night, members voted 19 to nine to exclude journalists and the public from a discussion on the Gama contract.

This followed legal advice from county solicitor Michael Houlihan who advised that councillors hold the discussion in committee "to avoid public comment and any wrong comment as it may leave the council open to exposure".

Mr Houlihan said a report being presented to county manager Alec Fleming raises serious matters.

Copies of the seven-page report were distributed to councillors during the two-hour discussion and councillors were asked to return the document to the executive before leaving the meeting.

Yesterday, Clare county engineer Tom Carey said that there was no secrecy surrounding the contract with Gama Construction.

He said it wasn't appropriate to comment on speculation in relation to the various issues that have been raised in the media.

Mr Carey expressed confidence that the bypass project will be complete within the agreed timeframe of spring 2007.

No councillor contacted yesterday - including those who voted against the holding of the meeting behind closed doors - would comment on the debate.

This followed stern warnings from Mr Houlihan, who told councillors that the council may be in breach of contract if details of the meeting were released.

The meeting was told that Gama has written to the council to state that workers on the Ennis bypass project are being paid the full rate.

Three councillors, Christy Curtin (Ind), Brian Meaney (Green) and Martin Lafferty (Ind) yesterday complained in a statement "that the method of presentation was one-sided and not conducive to the proper consideration by members of the contracting body".

They, however, declined to comment on the secret debate.

Last year Gama secured the contract from Clare Co Council to build the 21km route for €123 million, after lodging the lowest tender, beating off competition from five other companies, including four Irish competitors.