Mayo councillors lash Lawless over chamber statement
Cllr Paul Lawless was barracked by some of his fellow councillors at the monthly meeting of the local authority.
Aontu’s Paul Lawless was blasted by his fellow councillors in the wake of a statement he issued following a local authority workshop.
The newly elected councillor faced the ire of his colleagues in the chamber at monthly meeting of Mayo County Council.
He was accused of issuing a ‘misleading’ press statement in relation to the potential cost of refurbishing the council chamber and was rebuked for ‘ectioneering’ and ‘grandstanding’ when he addressed the meeting, Councillors were told at a workshop in July that the cost of refurbishing the Aras on Chontae chamber could be as much as €700,000. However, there was never a firm proposal to proceed with such a project.
Cllr Lawless issued a press statement slamming the cost and raised the matter at the monthly meeting.
Fianna Fail’s Damien Ryan accused Cllr Lawless of “grandstanding and electioneering.” Ballinrobe councillor Michael Burke also hit out at his fellow councillor.“I have been in this chamber for a long time and have sat with people on both sides me who were ambitious and went on to become TDs, Ministers, and even a Taoiseach. And the one thing they all did was stick to facts and the truth,” said Cllr Burke.
Earlier in the meeting, Cllr Lawless described the potential chamber upgrade as a “vanity project” and “reckless spending.” He said he was shocked that he was the only councillor to oppose it but this remark was strongly refuted by Fine Gael’s Donna Sheridan.
“If you come in and make statements then make sure they are factually correct,” said the Castlebar councillor.
“If you recall I did raise the issue of the possible projected price of this chamber and you came in after me and said ‘I agree with Cllr Sheridan,” she added.
Cllr Jarlath Munnelly claimed Cllr Lawless was trying to create outrage for political gain . “To take a comment from a workshop and turn it into a press release is irresponsible because it gives the impression to the public that we are wasting money.”
Cllr Lawless mounted a fulsome defence of his comments. “The idea that there is electioneering and propaganda going on here is absolutely wrong,” he fired back. Cllr Lawless said he was standing up for what he believed to be right.
