Council's failure to provide portaloos at charity event is criticised
Cllr Brendan Mulroy said it was "ludicrous" to hold the budget meeting ahead of the council's main estimates meeting.
Councillors in the West Mayo Municipal District have been told that Mayo County Council was not even able to afford to provide portaloos at a charity event.
Speaking at a budget meeting for the district, Cllr Christy Hyland claimed the council was unable to provide two portable toilets at the Relay for Life held in Westport this year.
“These portaloos cost €140 to hire, €70 each. This was for a charity event to help people going through cancer and there was no money in the Municipal District for this,” he said.
Cllr John O’Malley said it was a "disgrace" that he had to allocate funding for a civic reception for the All-Ireland Junior title-winning Kilmeena team as the council provided "not one penny" for the event.
Cllr Gerry Coyle added the district's General Municipal Allocation (GMA) of around €490,000 made no sense considering the revenue streams available.
“I can’t make head nor tail of this budget with all the money we have. Where is all the money from the windfarms and the gas field?”
Cllr Brendan Mulroy said it was "ludicrous" to hold the budget meeting before the county council held its own estimates meeting.
“It is a ludicrous situation discussing the budget, dragging us, management and the press down here in the absence of the main budget,” he said.
Head of the Municipal District Padraig Walsh said councillors were required by legislation to consider their budget up to 10 days before the main budget meeting.
Councillors unanimously proposed to reject the draft budget plan.
