McInerney Construction has denied it asked the deputy chairwoman of CIE, Ms Tras Honan, to make representations on its behalf in relation to a £1 million bus garage contract in Waterford.
Some months ago the procurement department of CIE and the company's chief architect decided not to ask McInerney and two other large building firms to tender for the job on the grounds that a medium-sized contractor would be more suitable.
According to an internal CIE document laid before the board last week, Ms Honan, a former cathaoirleach of the Seanad and prominent member of Fianna Fail, on learning that McInerney's had been excluded, made representations to CIE's property manager, Mr Jim Gahon, on behalf of McInerney. It was then decided to invite the company to tender.
Last night Ms Honan said she challenged the accuracy of that document on the basis that sections of it were untrue. She had not made representations on behalf of McInerney. On hearing from the company, she rang Mr Gahon to check if McInerney had been invited to tender, she said, and he had taken it from there. A statement issued by McInerney said Mr Joe McNamara, managing director of McInerney Construction, made contact with Ms Honan "simply to establish what stage the tender process had reached. It was through this that McInerney learned that invitations had already been issued and that McInerney had been excluded from the tender list."
Subsequently McInerney had contacted CIE, reminded the company of its long-term interest in the contract and asked that the decision to exclude it be reversed.