A British consultancy secured a €371,967 contract with a Government department days before two of its executives refused to attend an Oireachtas inquiry.
Lloyds Register MHA is expected to deliver a report on guidelines for the design and construction of rail infrastructure to the Department of Transport before the end of this month. The consultancy was hired by the then Department of Public Enterprise on September 1st last year after a tender process.
But on September 17th, two of its executives, Mr Michael Hamlyn and Mr Ken Vine, were asked to appear before an Oireachtas subcommittee investigating a €45.7 million overshoot on an Iarnród Éireann signalling system. They refused.
They are understood to have argued in correspondence that they had no legal obligation to attend because they were based outside the jurisdiction. Chaired by the Mr Seán Doherty, the subcommittee was not pleased.
Mr Doherty said at that time: "The sub-committee takes a most serious view indeed of this matter and is exploring with its legal advisers what options are open to it."
When contacted yesterday, he said the subcommittee was not aware that the company had secured a State contract only days earlier. The company's behaviour required an explanation, he said. "It's certainly very, very upsetting to say the least about it."
The inquiry was abandoned earlier this year after a suspension due to a High Court judgment on a separate Oireachtas inquiry into the fatal shooting by gardaí of John Carthy at Abbeylara, Co Longford.
In an "incomplete" estimate in its interim report in April, the subcommittee said the inquiry had cost €1.56 million after sitting for 235 hours in 26 public sittings.
A spokeswoman for Lloyds Register MHA said she was unable to comment on the non-attendance of Mr Hamlyn and Mr Vine because certain individuals were not available.
Lloyds Register acquired Michael Hamlyn Associates (MHA) in July last year. MHA had been a consultant to CIÉ in relation to the ill-fated Mini-CTC project, which was designed to improve signalling on lesser-used railway lines.
The company was also an associate of International Risk Management Services when it carried out a number of safety audits of the Irish rail network.
The inquiry explored CIÉ's links with Esat Telecom, which built a cable network along the railway at the same time as the Mini-CTC project ran aground, with huge cost implications. It heard that Esat's principal in its negotiation with CIÉ, Mr Leslie Buckley, had worked simultaneously for the two organisations in advance of the deal. The transport group's director of programmes and projects, Dr Ray Byrne, worked for Esat when he left CIÉ. It heard of rampant politicking in CIÉ and poor project and information management.
Mr Doherty retired at the general election. The Fine Gael committee members Mr Jim Higgins and Mr Austin Currie lost their seats. Mr Pat Rabbitte of the Labour Party, and Mr Martin Brady and Mr Noel O'Flynn of Fianna Fáil were re-elected.
