Councillor compares some Municipal District issues to 'Ballymagash' council

Councillor Tony McCormack said he believed the Tullamore Municipal District meeting was not the place to bring a list of complaints about various streets in the area.

He made his comments after Councillor Declan Harvey asked if back lanes in the district could be cleaned as he said grass and weeds were growing in some and it looked unsightly.

Cllr McCormack said he didn't think the council was there for that purpose or to get lines in the paper about looking after this or that street.

''I think we are better than that to be honest. This should be done with John (Connelly Senior Executive Engineer). They are operational matters,'' he said.

''I don't care if they are reported on or not. If I have something to say I will say it,'' responded Cllr Harvey.

It's Ballymagash stuff, interjected Cllr McCormack. This was a reference to Hall's Pictorial Weekly which ran on RTE television between 1964 and 1971 and was set in the offices of a mythical provincial newspaper in the fictional town of Ballymagash and featured the Ballymagash council meeting.

Councillor Ken Smollen said he agreed with Councillor Harvey.

''If there is an issue that needs to be raised and it needs to be raised at a public meeting it should be raised. That's what we are here for. We represent the people of this area,'' said Cllr Smollen.