Cullen accused of abusing power over records centre
The National Heritage Council is recommending the centre be located at the Waterford Institute of Technology, without putting the project out to tender.
The council’s wildlife committee member Des Crofton resigned in protest claiming there was “political patronage” involved and the law on the tender process was being broken.
The Heritage Council’s chief executive Michael Starrett has recommended the centre be located in Waterford and no other institute was being considered.
When Heritage Council members questioned this decision they were told it was “Waterford or nothing” by senior Department of the Environment officials, Mr Crofton said.
The department officials also told Heritage Council members that Mr Cullen had to be protected from any adverse publicity arising from a decision to locate in Waterford and the Heritage Council would have to provide justification for that decision, Mr Crofton said.
“I am accusing the minister of pulling a political stroke and abusing his position to use an independent statutory body to cover his ass,” Des Crofton said.
The Heritage Council is abdicating its statutory responsibility to put the location of the centre out to tender because all public contracts over €50,000 must go to tender, he said.
The project has a start-up cost of €175,000 and annual running cost of €600,000.
The Department of the Environment strongly rejected Mr Crofton’s claims that there was any political patronage involved and said no final decision had been made on the location of the National Biological Records Centre.
“It was the Heritage Council who approached the minister about setting up this centre and they recommended it should be located somewhere in the South East,” Mr Cullen's spokesman said.
He rejected the claims that any department official ever said it was to “Waterford or nothing” and said the Heritage Council had been lobbying for the centre for the past 10 years.
There is a nexus of environmental expertise in the South East and the planned decentralisation of the department to that region, the minister’s spokesman said.
Meanwhile, The Heritage Council’s chief executive Michael Starrett said the department had not put any pressure on his organisation to opt for Waterford Institute of Technology and no final decision had been made on the location of the centre.
But Mr Starrett did not explain why the project had not been put out to tender or why other colleges had not been consulted.
The Labour Party last night called on the minister to come into the Dáil and issue a full statement on how public procurement procedures were bypassed in this case.
May 25: Mr Cullen gives go-ahead to National Biological Records Centre to be set up.
May 28: Minister wrote to Heritage Council asking them to advance the proposal with a number of interested parties, including Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT).
May 31: Heritage Council chief executive Michael Starrett met with WIT along with National Parks and Wildlife Service director for initial discussions.
June 2: The Heritage Council’s Wildlife Committee is told the council is recommending that WIT should get the centre.
June 24: Committee member Des Crofton resigns in protest because it is not put out to tender.
June 30: WIT issues press statement that it is confident of getting the centre.
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