Contractors ‘put at risk’ over delay in road payments

A large number of sub-contractors are in danger of going to the wall because of delays in payments due to them by a major road construction company, it was claimed yesterday.

Upwards of 25 smaller contractors are owed money by BAM, the main contractor on the Tralee bypass, which opened in August, Kerry County Council was told.

Tralee councillor Jim Finucane (FG) raised the issue through an emergency motion at a council meeting, which heard the council was being blamed for not paying the sub-contractors.

“Some of the companies owed money are in the small to medium range and it will be very difficult for them to remain in business if they are not paid for work done,’’ he said.

Senior roads engineer Ger MacNamara said the council had a €30m contract with BAM for constructing the bypass and had paid the company €28.5m in accordance with the contract.

He said BAM knew “the rules of the game’’ and the council was retaining the remaining €1.5m for three years to ensure the work was fit for purpose, in line with the contract conditions.

A final account was still awaited from BAM, Mr MacNamara said.

He also told councillors the final account for the Castleisland bypass, opened in 2010, had not yet been sorted and was going through arbitration.

“There’s a fear we will end up in the same situation (arbitration) here in Tralee,’’ Mr MacNamara said.

County manager Tom Curran said legislation was due to go before the Dáil to protect rights of sub-contractors, which was not an issue for local authorities.

He said BAM had made substantial profits last year and it was up to the company to pay the sub-contractors, irrespective of its final account with the council.

“We have no difficulty in paying for extra work done, but have a difficulty in paying over the odds for what we consider to be a contract,’’ Mr Curran said.

Councillors Danny and Johnny Healy-Rae left the meeting while the issue was being considered, with the latter saying he was an employee of a firm sub-contracted to the road project.

BAM said in a statement that it was seeking discussions with the council and was hopeful it would engage in fair and meaningful dialogue, and that the issues could be resolved quickly.

“A substantial amount in excess of the contract value has already been paid out by BAM. BAM is committed to processing all payments to subcontractors and suppliers who have worked on the project, as we have throughout our 57 years in business,” the company said.

“A significant number of variations and extras have been notified to Kerry County Council and the process to deal with and resolve them is being managed slowly by Kerry County Council and the NRA.’’