Athlone Town Mayor, Cllr. Aengus O’Rourke, has expressed his immense disappointment pertaining to the Oireachtas Golf Society outing, the source of much public ire this past week.
“As a citizen and as an elected public representative, I am bitterly disappointed and quite sickened in fact at the careless disregard shown by those senior politicians and public figures who attended the Oireachtas golf event in Galway last week.
“Their actions were so blatantly in breach of Government and HSE guidelines it has left the country stunned and feeling very let-down. This country has battled through an enormous crisis since March and the fight goes on.
“We are all aware of the immense sacrifices being made by so many people to keep loved ones and vulnerable older people safe and well, not to mention the front-line staff who have walked a tightrope every day since March to save lives while trying to keep themselves and their families safe.
“Yet in Galway we had ‘responsible adults’ carrying on regardless while enjoying a summer ‘jolly’ in a hotel where many aspects of our health guidelines were simply cast aside. And all of this, while the rest of us are making huge sacrifices on so many levels. We all have a role to play in suppressing this virus.
“Our sole focus this week should be on getting our children and teachers back to school safely, this kind of distraction is the last thing we need right now,” the Town Mayor asserted.
