VEC tells town council to ‘mind its own business’

VEC tells Castlebar Town Council to ‘mind its own business’

Edwin McGreal

Members of the Mayo Vocational Education Committee (VEC) have lashed out at Castlebar Town Council and told the council to ‘mind its own business’ in a bizarre row over expenses.

At last Wednesday’s meeting Dr Katie Sweeney, CEO of Mayo VEC, told members that she had received a letter in April from Castlebar Town Council serving notice of a motion passed that the amount of expenses claimed by the VEC members should be available to Castlebar Town Council.

“Who proposed that (motion)? Was it Noreen Heston?,” asked an angry Cllr Eddie Staunton.

Cllr Noreen Heston is a member of Castlebar Town Council and a former member of the VEC. She is also a Fine Gael colleague of Cllr Staunton’s but there have been a series of rows between Cllr Heston and Fine Gael this year in relation to VEC matters. Cllr Heston is an outspoken critic of expenses accrued by members of local authorities.

Chair of Mayo VEC, Cllr Jarlath Munnelly informed the meeting that it was not pointed out who proposed the motion, merely that Castlebar Town Council had passed it. Dr Sweeney added that the Freedom of Information Act didn’t apply to the VEC and so the town council couldn’t obtain the figures that way and had to ask for them.

“There is a statutory rate of expenses and that is the rate that is applicable to the VEC and that is what should be sent back to Castlebar Town Council. I don’t see what business it is of Castlebar Town Council to be inquiring,” said Bangor based VEC member Paraic Cosgrove.

Ballina’s Cllr Johnnie O’Malley said he had no problem with his expenses being declared but felt politicians were subject to ‘vilification’.

“My personal expenses were incorrectly given out by Mayo County Council and I was ballyragged by a local paper and by people on the street as a result. The information is used to downgrade the work of politicians and is used as ammunition to create a vilification of councillors,” said Cllr O’Malley.

Claremorris’ Cllr Richard Finn said that his expenses for VEC meetings ‘wouldn’t cover the price of a taxi’ for him while his Claremorris Electoral Area colleague Cllr Patsy O’Brien described the actions of the town council as ‘very rich’,

“We’re getting a battering on this issue and it is being used against us. It is very unfair. I ended up out in Brussels with Mayo County Council and we had to pay our costs on the day ourselves and wait for months to get it back. The press don’t understand that.

”I think it is gone overboard and it is time we put a bit of sense on it and stopped this kids stuff of what everyone’s getting,” added Cllr O’Brien.

“There is genuine concern about the amount of money being spent but this sort of approach is misguided and populist. There are a lot more pressing issues than this,” added Cllr Michelle Mulherin.

The meeting agreed to write back to Castlebar Town Council to inform them that they would not be making their expenses available.