Council struggling to get staff to fill certain roles

A South Mayo councillor has called on Mayo County Council to hire seasonal workers to address the local authority's shortage of outdoor staff.

Independent Cllr Patsy O’Brien told last week’s meeting of the Claremorris-Swinford Municipal District that he had seen the strategy work at Irish Rail and believed it could also succeed in the county council.

“Seasonal workers on a six-month contract did really well for us in Irish Rail working in conjunction with the full-time staff. It is a no-brainer for the council to hire seasonal staff,” he said.

Cllr O’Brien added that a lot of permanent staff were recruited from among seasonal staff members in Irish Rail.

Fianna Fáil Cllr Damien Ryan said council recruitment panels were moving too slowly.

“We have to replenish panels a lot quicker and panels may have to become annual because turnarounds from retirements to a role being filled is taking time,” he said.

Earlier in the meeting, it was announced that a senior executive engineer would be appointed to replace the current engineer who had moved temporarily to the council's roads office. Fine Gael Cllr Michael Burke said the council was lucky to have someone to fill this role.

“We’re lucky to have someone to step in. The council had difficulty a few weeks ago to get applications for the general operatives role,” he said.

Fianna Fáil Cllr Adrian Forkan added that the Swinford area is down around four general operatives but there is no panel in place to replace these staff.

Director of Services Tom Gilligan acknowledged it has been difficult for the council to hire staff despite it being a "great place to work".

“We are living in an era of almost 100% employment and it is difficult to get people to apply for those jobs,” Mr Gilligan said. “There are great opportunities for a career in Mayo County Council, it is a great place to work and maybe we need to promote that side of it more so more people will apply,” he added.