Mayo FF councillor demands cancellation of controversial meeting
A Fianna Fáil member of Mayo County Council is demanding the immediate cancellation of a controversial meeting on migrant accommodation which the authority is planning to hold next Friday.
Kilkelly-based Councillor John Caulfield this evening called on the three group whips - Peter Flynn (FG), Damian Ryan (FF) and Michael Kilcoyne (Ind.) - "to pull the plug on the meeting in order for the council to avoid further embarrassment in the matter."
Councillor Caulfield said a motion placed on the agenda calling on the council to no longer cooperate with the intake of Ukrainian refugees (BOTP) and international protection asylum seekers (IPAS) into the county had caused huge reputational damage.
"Let's be abundantly clear about this, there was no consultation between the whips and the elected members on this matter.
"If there was, it would never have come to this. I won't be attending the meeting because I do not want to be associated in any way with it. I am not the only one who will be boycotting it, if it goes ahead."
His call for a cancellation is supported by his Claremorris Municipal District elected colleague, Sinn Féin Councillor Gerry Murray.
"The consensus at the moment, as I see it, is that the majority of councillors will be boycotting the meeting.
"I think that is the right thing to do because it should not be given any credence whatsoever.
"I was both astonished and amazed when I read the agenda, one of the motions bearing a striking resemblance to one passed at a public meeting held on Market Square in Castlebar some weeks ago.
"In any event, an attempt by councillors to challenge government policy was never going to see the light of day.
"So the sooner an end is put to this matter, the better," he added.
Castlebar Fine Gael Councillor Cyril Burke has confirmed in a statement that he will be boycotting the meeting if it proceeds.
The episode has left a very sour taste politically as elected members of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the independent grouping are all at loggerheads with their whips in unprecedented fashion.