Former Mayor of Limerick seeks to question ‘rubbish’ answers at council meetings
A LIMERICK councillor who walked out of a previous municipal district meeting is pushing for the right to question “unsatisfactory” answers given by council staff in response to issues.
Cllr Liam Galvin (FG) proposed that standing orders at Newcastle West Municipal District meetings, where answers on questions are given to councillors, be suspended, so that they can be questioned.
Cathaoirleach Michael Collins (FF) stressed that as the newly-appointed chairperson, his intention is to “streamline” meetings and that the municipal district was “doing wrong” by wasting time before.
“I don’t want anybody to raise anything out of the blue, so that nobody else knows about it, and especially the people sitting next to me (council officials) who have to answer it,” Cllr Collins said.
Cllr Galvin retorted by asserting that for 18 years, the Municipal District has practiced by questioning answers, to which Cllr Collins replied: “Well then for 18 years we have been doing our business wrong.”
He added: “We should be getting our business done here in two hours and be out the door and get on with the rest of our work, that is what I have realised.”
Cllr Galvin stated that he wants the right to question what he described as “rubbish answers” from council officials in response to officially submitted questions relating to issues.
In an attempt at finding balance, Cllr John Sheahan (FG) suggested that council officials email the answers to councillors in response to their questions, in the days leading up to the monthly meeting.
Cllr Jerome Scanlan (Independent) suggested that discussions on topics take place outside the meetings, with a new consensus being brought to the meeting administrator where answers are “unsatisfactory.”
While agreement was not reached on the issue of suspending standing orders, Cllr Scanlan said he was not happy with the treatment of one member of council management at a previous meeting.
Mayor Francis Foley agreed, adding: “We have to treat members of staff with more respect. They come in and try their best to give us answers. It is very unfair for us as councillors to hound them.”
He stressed that they have to be accountable, and they have to be questioned, however, “we need to be fair with staff, no member of staff must be made to feel bad for their answers.”