Comment: Where would Mayo be without Mayo County Council?
While it is easy to criticise local authorities over what they fail to do, it is right and fitting that acknowledgement is given in regard to what they do achieve.
A recent document published by Mayo County Council revealed a €2.03 billion revenue and capital spend had been delivered to towns, villages and parishes across the county over the past five years.
Considering that the Covid pandemic had brought society to a standstill for a long span of 2020 and part of 2021, that is some amount of money coming the county’s way in terms of infrastructural and other investment.
While the €250 million spent on the new Turlough to Westport roadway took up a sizeable chunk of the outlay, it still begs the question: Where would Mayo be without Mayo County Council?
It is true that we all give out from time to time about relatively small issues including potholes, grass-cutting and street-sweeping not getting the attention they deserve on our streets and in our estates.
But when it comes to securing funding for a wide range projects, the council is very successful.
While information is not available at this point in regard to how Mayo compares to other counties, the available evidence suggests it’s not doing too badly at all.
An organisation like Mayo County Council can never do enough, of course, and every town and village will have their own view in regard to how the money could be better spent.
The lack of housing to meet the needs of those on the waiting list is an obvious example and it is expected that greater progress will be made in that respect over the coming years.
Dereliction, which includes buildings owned by the council itself, is another thorny issue, as is the condition of the main road (R312) between Belmullet and Castlebar.
The fiasco over the withdrawal of over €1.1 million in funding for a greenway project in west Mayo, after auditors discovered that monies claimed and signed-off on had never been spent, is an episode that’s probably best forgotten now.
But the Imperial Hotel in Castlebar is a headline example of the council failing to get something right. They bought it over a decade ago and it is still lying stagnant.
There are still several other promised projects that have been at a standstill for a number of years and need to be addressed to end the perception that they are being neglected on the council’s watch.
One suspects they will be and that past lessons learned will be beneficial going forward.
Hopefully so.
On the whole, however, Mayo County Council is an essential and integral influence in driving on the county in so many ways that we simply could not prosper without it.
That’s the reality.
And it's another reason why this weekend's local elections are so important in protecting local democracy, even if the power held by the successful candidates is somewhat limited.