Irish Army Shop Over the Border.

Wednesday August 26, 2009 21:38

by Opinion Jay

Domestic consumers not the only ones shopping across the border.

It not just the domestic consumer crossing the border to take advantage of the lower prices, It seems so did the Irish army. They have awarded a €1.5 million contract to a lucky construction company over in that Lower VAT and minimum wage haven known as Northern Ireland.
They put out to tender the construction of a new building to house up to 300 soldiers being relocated from other army bases. The company that was awarded to contract is located in Omagh, they were chosen over construction companies in Donegal and Sligo.
It is said that the quote the Irish Army received from the Omagh based company was €40,000 cheaper than what they had received from southern based companies.
Some believe that the government should lead by example and shop locally, so what are they saying, the Irish Government should over spend the already dwindling tax funds?
Then the same people that are up in arms over the government choosing the best value option would be shouting about the place that they are wasting the taxpayer’s money by over spending. If the Irish construction companies involved had given a keen price maybe they would have got the contract as opposed to the cheapest option coming from outside the republic. Hopefully this may be the kick Irish companies and indeed the Irish people need to realise we are just not competitive enough.
Of course we are all more than happy to take the trip up the M1 for the cheap groceries. But at the same time none of us are prepared to take a pay cut or cut the minimum wage to try encouraging more companies to do business here. So we as a nation have yet to learn anything from the ‘current economical climate’ we now find ourselves in, as we still want our Celtic tiger flavour cake and eat it to…