Wexford County Council rejects call to sever ties with companies ‘involved in breaching human rights’

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

Wexford County Council (WCC) has rejected calls to establish a “rights-based Ethical Procurement Policy (EPP)” despite claims it utilises services provided by companies “involved in breaching human rights and international law”. At the July meeting of the council, Sinn Fein’s Tom Forde submitted a motion requesting WCC adopt a “rights-based Ethical Procurement Policy (EPP), ensuring that every endeavour is made to ensure that council tender processes are consistent with the principles of the UN”.

In light of the ongoing conflicts in Palestine and Ukraine, Councillor Forde asked that the council no longer do business with companies “complicit in human rights abuses” and “ensure that human rights obligations are properly acknowledged, observed and respected at all stages of the procurement process."

However, Cllr Forde’s motion was rejected out of hand with the council executive stating it “operates its procurement activities in line with all relevant legislation, regulations, guidelines and its own public procurement policy and procedures”.

“WCC is committed to the promotion of the use of environmental and social considerations in public procurement, this is further strengthened in WCC’s corporate procurement plan,” it added. “Any proposed ethical procurement policy would have to align with the EU treaty principles of transparency, equal treatment, mutual recognition, proportionality, and non-discrimination.”

After the meeting, Cllr Forde expressed his disappointment that his motion was rejected, noting that the same motion had been passed in 13 other councils across the country.

"The purpose of this initiative is to ethically advance how councils across Ireland tender and who they are affiliated to in accordance with international law obligations," he said. "This motion has already been passed by 13 councils. It is something that could have been easily achieved here in Wexford. We should be no different in this sense and we should be pushing for more.

"Efforts to introduce such a policy have been quickly dismissed as being controlled by Europe and government and because of the potential to bring legal challenges, but I don't believe that is the case."

Asking that his motion be reconsidered, Cllr Forde said the adoption of an EPP would ensure the council does not “financially aid businesses and companies investing, practicing or complicit in human rights abuses when tendering."

"We are living in an ever-changing world and we should be holding ourselves and human rights violators to the highest ethical standards," he added.