Row brews over coffee business in City Council-owned kiosk

Management at City Hall has been scalded for circumventing procurement rules and allowing a businessman to sell coffee from a publicly owned kiosk in Eyre Square.

Galway City Councillor Ollie Crowe said Chief Executive Brendan McGrath was wrong to permit the old Fáilte Ireland tourist kiosk to be used for business.

The Fianna Fáil representative said it was outrageous that the kiosk was leased for ‘buttons’ to a businessman, giving him unfair advantage over nearby, established businesses.

Councillor Crowe, a publican, said Mr McGrath went on a ‘solo run’, allowing the establishment of the café in the kiosk.

He said the Council did not adhere to planning, procurement or a competitive public tendering process when agreeing to lease the property.

“I know for a fact that one business in Eyre Square pays in excess of €100,000 in commercial rates to Galway City Council. It is not fair that this kiosk is being leased by the City Council to a businessman who is not paying commercial rates on it, and is paying a minuscule rent. It is absolutely outrageous.

“You have the Skeff and Garvey’s and Richardson’s and the Meyrick, who all pay their rates and service coffee. You also have Colm McDonagh, who has opened a new coffee shop in Eyre Square. Then in the old Abrakebabra, there is a coffee place and that’s less than 50 yards from the kiosk.

“There has to be some fairness to ratepayers – you can’t have a situation where they are being crucified and yet here you have a situation where procurement rules haven’t been met. It’s not on. There is a kiosk out on the Prom in Salthill and the person in there had to go through procedures and a tendering process with the council. You can’t just open up a coffee shop in the kiosk. There has to be proper procedures,” fumed Councillor Crowe.

A spokesperson at Galway City Council confirmed the owner of the Jungle Café on Forster Street approached City Hall with an idea to sell coffee from the kiosk.

“It was late in the Summer and it was agreed that we would do it on a trial basis – a pilot – and if it is successful then we will put it out to tender at the end of the Summer. It might not be suitable, there are a whole load of considerations, including litter management, that will be looked at, after the Summer,” he said.

The spokesperson confirmed that in addition to the café, Galway Arts Festival would still be using the kiosk from today as a ticket sales and collection point.