Tipperary grasscutting contracts come under scrutiny at local council meeting

Councillors in the Nenagh Municipal District have criticised the current grass-cutting system in the Nenagh and Newport areas, arguing that contractors are being asked to cover too much ground and are unable to maintain the expected standard.

The issue was raised during a discussion at the district's June meeting, with councillors pointing to ongoing complaints from residents and concerns that the work being carried out is undermining the efforts of local Tidy Towns groups.

Newport-based councillor Fiona Bonfield said she had recently received a number of calls from members of the community regarding grass-cutting standards.

"Maybe it's something going forward that we need to get more than one contractor to cover the area," she said.

"It's just disappointing the way it is because of the effort the local Tidy Towns groups are putting in."

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Cllr Bonfield cited an example of grass being strimmed but the cuttings being left behind afterwards, and argued that the scale of the work was the real issue.

"I'm not complaining, I just honestly think it's too big of a job for one contractor," she said.

Nenagh councillor Seamie Morris agreed, saying the current tendering system was not delivering the results required.

"What we have at the moment isn't working. People are going in and driving the tender price as low as they can and it's not working," he said.

"I know they're not bad people, but the job is too big and they're not capable of doing it on their own."

Cllr Morris suggested that the council should consider carrying out the work directly rather than relying on external contractors.

"Putting the stuff up to tender isn't working and I know you're trying," he said.

"We need to stop counting on putting it up to tender. The guys are pricing themselves out of the market and the ones that are coming in as cheap as possible just aren't able to do it."

Responding to the concerns, District Engineer Barry Murphy explained that there are currently two grass-cutting contracts in the Nenagh Municipal District. However, the same contractor secured both contracts after submitting the most competitive bid.

"It does go out to tender and he is the most competitive by some distance, so there isn't an easy answer when it comes to the second and third bidders," he said.

Mr Murphy acknowledged the concerns raised by councillors and said he would engage with the contractor to ensure improvements are made for the remainder of the season.

He also revealed that the council would review the contracting arrangements ahead of next year, with the possibility of splitting the work into three separate areas rather than two.

While acknowledging the benefits of employing council staff directly, Mr Murphy said financial realities made that difficult.

"In an ideal world we would have our own staff and ensure grass is cut to a good standard, but you need specialised equipment and the budgets do not support that increase in staff and supplies," he said.