Councillors oppose plan for levy on Mayo Stages Rally
Cllr Seamus Weir pictured with founder members Benny Walkin, Willie Durcan, James McGreal, John Duffy, Bernie Kenny at Mayo Stages Rally at the launch of the 2024 Mayo Stages Rally in the Great National Hotel Ballina last month.
Councillors in Ballina have voiced their opposition to a proposal to impose a levy on the recent Mayo Stages Rally in Ballina,
Cathaoirleach Cllr Seamus Weir told last week’s Ballina Municipal District meeting there was some minor road damage following the event on March 3 last.
The council's executive engineer Orla Burke said there had been some discussion in relation to the damage.
“The senior engineer was suggesting that in future we may need to impose a deposit on the rally to deal with these issues,” she added.
However, Fine Gael Cllr Jarlath Munnelly said the event brings in a lot of money to the area during what is traditionally a quiet period for tourism.
“I would not be supportive of us putting a levy on them,” he said. “If the roads were tip-top beforehand and then they were destroyed that would be something, but that is not the case here.”
Independent Cllr Mark Duffy said he believed imposing a levy on volunteers who did a brilliant job in bringing the event to the town would be unfair.
“Let’s make sure we keep it in the area as much as possible,” he added.
Cllr Annie May Reape said she was concerned that if a levy was imposed in Ballina there would be a multitude of other towns bidding for the event.
