At last night's meeting of Galway City Council Pádraig Connelly pointed out that when he had voiced concern about the contractors on the Eyre Square site on June 13th, he was accused by the city manager of spreading misinformation.
He said he was almost on the verge of calling for an independent inquiry into how the Eyre Square contract was awarded to Samuel Kingston Construction and what investigation was conducted into the company's financial position and track record.
Councillors queried whether Samuel Kingston of the construction company had sought payment in advance from the city council.
Catherine Connolly revealed that Mr Kingston wrote to his staff on the Eyre Square site on May 25th, claiming that he had to cut their hours because he was receiving inadequate payment from the council. At the same time the councillors were being reassured by the city manager that pressure was being put on the contractor to finish the job on time. She said it was now time to give the citizens of Galway a green oasis in the centre of the city.
Billy Cameron said the reason Mr Kingston pulled out of the Eyre Square site so quickly was because they saw another Gama situation developing.
John Mulholland said the city was in a state of emergency and it was vital that the roads around the square were finished immediately so that traffic could flow freely again.