Sinn Féin councillor Thérèse Ruane has welcomed the backing of Castlebar Town Council for her motion tabled at the November meeting, that any councillors must car pool or use public transport when travelling to conferences. The Deputy Mayor is also calling for a freeze on councillors attending conferences in 2011 and for the savings to be allocated to the amenities budget to benefit community groups in the town.
“It's a scandal that some councillors avail of profitable expenses while people are facing real hardship outside the chamber due to government cutbacks,” Cllr. Ruane said. “I've raised this issue on numerous occasions. From now on, only one payment for councillors travelling to conferences will be paid by Castlebar Town Council and car pooling or public transport must be used; this is standard practice in other places of work and I don't see why councillors should behave any differently. This will save money while helping the environment and contribute to more sustainable transport.”
Cllr Ruane noted that in 2010 the allocation exceeded €11,676 for conferences alone, in addition to an allocation of €15,000 for trips abroad.
“The diversion of this money to the amenity fund would go a long way to providing community initiatives and amenities in Castlebar. It is not acceptable for some politicians to preach austerity to ordinary people and draw down profitable expenses to attend conferences around the country at the same time,” she said.
