Council chief allays concerns over staffing levels in Mayo town
The council chief Kevin Kelly addressed staffing concerns raised by councillors.
The chief executive of Mayo County Council has attempted to alleviate staffing fears among Castlebar-based councillors.
Independent Cllr Harry Barrett raised the issue of staffing levels in the Castlebar Municipal District at the monthly meeting of the council. He said there are 57 staff members in the Castlebar area compared to 87 in Ballina, 102 in Claremorris/Swinford and 105 in Westport/Belmullet.
“It’s extremely unfair that this has come to pass,” said Cllr Barrett, adding that the council is at least 10 outdoor staff short.
Fellow Castlebar councillor Donna Sheridan praised the staff in the Castlebar Municipal District but said she never realised the extent of the disparity between Castlebar and other districts.
“We need a service on the ground and we need the numbers."
The Fine Gael councillor, who is Cathaoirleach of the Castlebar Municipal District, said the issue needs to be dealt with "as a matter of urgency".
Chief executive Kevin Kelly told the meeting that it is the policy of the local authority to fill all vacant positions. He said there were 1,034 council staff at the end of 2020 compared to 1,057 at the end of 2024.
“In 2024, we advertised 47 competitions and we interviewed 763 people and 133 people joined the organisation. That’s quite a lot of activity,” Mr Kelly remarked.
He said some of the disparities between municipal districts can be explained by the number of local offices and geographical span and population of different areas.
Mr Kelly said the Castlebar staffing numbers have not been intentionally reduced compared to previous years.
