The removal of roadside memorials to the late Joe Deacy was raised this week at Mayo County Council with Cllr Gerry Ginty labelling the action insensitive, wrong and undertaken without any consultation with the councillors and the Deacy family.
Plans to arrange a meeting between the family and the Council over the matter were also encouraged by Council officials.
"I think this family have suffered enough and I think they deserve to be dealt with very, very sensitively. I think the family should be allowed to come before the council and voice their concerns," said Cllr Ginty.
"There may be rules and regulations, but rules and regulations have been changed in the past, what annoys some people is that for certain memorials, there is no problem they can be big, huge and ugly. But this was a tiny thing, not of a very lasting, light timber, it was no danger to anybody and I think it is wrong. It is a shameful episode and something should be done to put it right," he said.
Director of services for Mayo County Council Tom Gilligan told the meeting that he offered his condolences on the tragedy and revealed that the matter was brought to the SPC to consider a roadside memorial policy which will come before the members in due course.
Mayo County Council's chief executive, Peter Hynes said that he hoped a meeting between the family and the local authority could soon take place.
"It is a very sensitive situation and I know it was discussed at the West Mayo Municipal District and there was a suggestion made that a meeting would be facilitated. To my knowledge that meeting has not happened, but it can still happen and in my view it should and I think that might help to clear up some of the concerns.
"I do regret if our actions have in any way exacerbated the suffering of the family, I do regret that and I think a meeting might be a prudent step forward and the situation can be taken on from there," he concluded.
