Everything possible needs to be done to ensure local firms will be treated equally when it comes to bidding for work emanating from £9 million Social Investment funding for projects in the city, a local councillor has said.
Cllr Bridget Meehan
Sinn Fein Councillor Bridget Meehan has called on Derry City Council to use the Enterprise Derry project to provide local firms with the assistance they need if bidding for the tenders.
Cllr Meehan said the recent announcement the Social Investment Fund (SIF) bringing £9 million to Derry was a “positive investment” for the city.
She said the purpose of SIF was to target disadvantage and inequalities and the successful projects were selected on the basis that they met the greatest objective need.
Out of the £9 million, £6 million is be spent on capital build projects for pitch and play facilities across disadvantaged areas in the city with the remaining £3 million to go on a on a Community Works Programme designed to tackle long-term unemployment across the City.
Cllr Meehan said: “We know that the projects will bring benefits once they are operational.
“But Sinn Féin is determined that benefits will be forthcoming before that. This can be done using a two-pronged approach which Sinn Féin will pursue.
“Firstly, when the projects go out to tender early in 2014, we will ensure that everything possible is done to provide local firms with equal access to the opportunity to bid for the tenders.
“This will require careful crafting of the tender documents as well as capacity building and assistance for local firms to make sure they have the same chance of winning tenders as firms elsewhere.
Secondly, Cllr Meehan said Sinn Fein would ensure that social clauses were written into the tender documents.
She added: “Sinn Féin has long supported the use of social clauses and at Assembly level, we achieved the mandatory inclusion of social clauses in all public contracts.
“On top of that, we want social clauses to result in the maximum community benefits possible such as the creation of new jobs and apprenticeships and the involvement of local firms in the supply chain.
“At a recent meeting of the One Plan’s Strategy Board, it was agreed that the City would adopt a toolkit for using social clauses and this was an initiative that Sinn Féin drove.”
Given this two-pronged approach, Cllr Meehan said Sinn Féin would be calling Derry City Council to use the Enterprise Derry project to provide local firms with the assistance they need if bidding for the SIF tenders.
She concluded: “We will also call on the bodies responsible for issuing the SIF tenders to maximise them for local opportunities and community benefits, all of which can be done within the parameters of EU law.”
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