Parties oppose renewal of Leech contract

THE controversial contract awarded to PR consultant Monica Leech should not be renewed when it expires in two months’ time, opposition parties said last night.

Ms Leech was awarded a two-year contract, worth €800 plus VAT per day, in a tender process in February 2003, six months after she had been hired by the department on a temporary basis in a single tender process.

The latest figures show that Ms Leech, a political supporter of Transport Minister Martin Cullen in Waterford, has earned €310,000 to date for the part-time consultancy.