Council to spend €2m on revamp of its headquarters

Mayo County Council is to take out a loan for €2 million to refurbish the ground floor of its headquarters, Áras an Chontae, in Castlebar, writes Joan Geraghty.

The matter came before the February meeting of the council with Cllr Damian Ryan saying that the work was badly needed.

"I’ve been in local authority headquarters all around the country and ours is probably the most outdated, having been built in 1990 while others have had upgrades for acoustics and ventilation. It is also very important that the focal point of the foyer looks the part for the constituents in the county. It should be the landmark building in Mayo and this is a small investment in terms of that and I very much support it.”

Cllr Peter Flynn agreed, adding that there is an issue around accessibility to the building.

“There are steps everywhere so coming into this building is not fit for purpose. Also, more and more of our meetings are online and we need to facilitate that and for everybody to be able to hear contributors perfectly, including the public.” 

Cllr Donna Sheridan said the Castlebar District Office in the Áras badly needed attention and she hoped it would be included in the plan. 

“I don’t think there is even a sign saying you are coming into it. We don’t have a proper dedicated space for people to come to. Instead, I am directing constituents to go to the back of the building and keep going. We need a proper office for this district; to show we have a proper home and are a district in our own right.” 

Cllr Blackie Gavin echoed Cllr Sheridan's comments.

Cllr Richard Finn said it is 40 years since anything was done with the chamber and he didn’t think the €2 million loan would be “a major burden on people and at least you are getting something back". 

Cllr Gerry Coyle queried what savings would be made through retrofitting. 

• Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.