Council chief's commitment queried

A councillor has been accused of launching a ‘personal attack’ on the Chief Executive of Mayo County Council during at yesterday’s meeting of the local authority.

Fine Gael’s Peter Flynn hit out at the Chief Executive, Kevin Kelly at the last meeting of the council before the June elections.

“In my view we have become nothing more than a ‘nickel and dime’ operation and I mean that sincerely. I talk to senior people who are in Mayo County Council who are here decades and are telling me they are now working to controls that were in operation in 2010 when the Troika were in this country,” said Cllr Flynn.

He said every single item of expenditure and ‘every iota of overtime. has to be approved by a member of the senior management team. He said there is no longer any trust placed in lower or middle management. “I was speaking to someone in the private sector and they said to me: ‘If I was getting the best part of a €200,000 between salary and expenses, not accountable to anyone, do you know what I probably wouldn’t care less either about the way the organization was.’ Unfortunately, I hate to say that. This is not a personal criticism of you. I have met you a few times and you seem a very nice man. But the fact that you are commuting 200km back and forth into every day tells a tale about your commitment to this county. You have been nothing more than a bookkeeper in this organization.” 

At this juncture, Cathaoirleach of the council, Cllr Michael Loftus intervened and asked Cllr Flynn to retract some of the comments made. Cllr Flynn agreed to on the basis that his queries were addressed. Cllr Flynn's comments were not warmly received by some of his fellow councillors, including some party colleagues who said they wished to distance themselves from the remarks made.

Mr Kelly issued a forthright response to some of the acccusations levelled at him. "There is no austerity and we are confusing different principles here. Austerity means cutbacks and reductions. There are no cutbacks here, there are no reductions We are spending more money,” said Mr Kelly. He said it is job to ensure money should be spent property and to build ‘solid foundations’ for the future. 

 Addressing Cllr Flynn, he stated: “Your indication that you have only spoken to me a couple of times over the last few years as the whip for your party, its opviosu that you don’t me, and maybe you should spend a little bit more time talking to me so you do understand what I’m at, rather than come in here throwing around allegations.