Retirements leave council with shortage of outdoor staff

There have been a lot of retirements from Mayo County Council in recent months and the local authority is now undergoing a full reassessment of its workforce.

Director of Services Catherine McConnell told last week's meeting of the local authority that a sudden drop in the number of outdoor staff in the Castlebar Municipal District was the result of several simultaneous retirements. Ms McConnell was responding to Independent Cllr Harry Barrett who called for the reinstatement of an outdoor staff panel so there are immediate replacements when staff retire or resign.

The Director of Services acknowledged that the existing panel for outdoor staff is currently exhausted and the council is in the process of recruiting new staff. 

"Across the county, there is a huge volume of staff retirement going on at the moment [and] a coincidence of retirements happened in Castlebar and we will be recruiting for general operatives in the near future.” 

Cllr Barrett sought a timeline for the recruitment drive, noting: "This is affecting every local village and we would want to see a plan put in place fairly quickly. In Castlebar Municipal District, there are just two to three outdoor staff at any time for the entirety of this town. It is not enough. There was always a panel to replace anyone retiring in each district but now there is no panel and no sign we will ever have one again, with the result we are down 10 outdoor staff.

“We can’t go on like this. We are operating with a skeleton staff. I want action and a timeline on this. It takes quite a long time to get jobs filled. 

"We need to get our jobs done. It’s not fair on our staff or the people because they can’t deliver. 

"The grass-cutting season is now upon us so it will be even worse in the next few weeks."

Cllr Chris Maxwell said he "100% agreed" with Cllr Barrett, adding: “Men or women on the ground is what we need, working staff. There is not enough of them.” 

Chief executive Kevin Kelly replied: “I am very pleased members are so supportive of our staffing plans because the next budget will be all about supporting increased staff numbers and we will be delighted you will be supporting it.”