Almost €50m of capital tenders awarded by Donegal County Council have gone to companies across the border, new figures have revealed.

The Construction Industry Federation (CIF) says a fifth of all such contracts were given to companies in Northern Ireland between 2006 and 2008.

According to a report in the Donegal Democrat, around €190m worth of contracts were given to companies in the Irish Republic across the same timeframe.

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As a result of the new figures, there have been calls for "fairer procurement processes" that do not give an advantage to companies from the North that are in competition with local companies for public sector contracts.

"The regulations are not being implemented and I don't blame the county council," said Fine Gael Councillor, Barry O'Neill.

"They are simply implementing the procurement process laid down by the government but the government does not have anything in place as regards vetting or investigation," he said.

"The question I am asking is can any Government minister stand over those contracts that were awarded and can they tell the people in Donegal that the legislation has been complied with?"

The CIF claims contractors from Northern Ireland are, in some cases, paying staff up to 40% less than rivals in the south, it was claimed.

(NS/BMcC)