Mayo council trips under spotlight again

THE cost of council trips abroad has again been questioned by Aontú Councillor Paul Lawless.

He has asked for costs, benefits and a review on return when members travel abroad.

This is the second month that Councillor Lawless has raised the matter, this time after members were asked to approve sending the cathaoirleach and a delegation to Chicago to attend the Mayo Association's annual event on November 2.

He noted how in his short time on the council, he counted 17 councillors undertaking international travel on five trips.

He acknowledged there are some worthwhile trips but it wasn't too much to ask for a discussion about them and that they would have projected costs and benefits and a review after the trips.

He was asking that they would scrutinise public expenditure, or was it a case that every invite that comes is accepted and anyone who challenges such expenditure will be shouted at, he asked.

Long-serving Councillor Al McDonnell said there are over 1,000 multi-nationals in Ireland and that didn't happen by accident. It came about as they went after the industrialists and told them of the benefits we could offer, pointing out the multi-millions going into the Mayo economy as a result each year.

He had been in boardrooms and they sowed seeds that could be reaped down the line.

It was easy to be populist, said Councillor Damien Ryan, who noted a lot of inward investment came through the connections and networking on these trips. And he called for a stop to the ‘grandstanding and political point scoring’.

The amount of goodwill could not be overstated, said Councillor Mark Duffy, who highlighted investments in local Ballina projects arising from a trip to Chicago.

Councillor Peter Flynn accused Councillor Lawless of 'populism and electioneering'.

He was recently on an active travel trip, funded by the NTA - not one cent came from the council. And he didn't get paid for the four days he was away from the office.

However, he learned a lot and it was all about trying to learn from other areas and then use that learning to promote and develop the county.

In relation to the Chicago trip, Councillor Richard Finn said he had attended a meeting of the independent technical grouping about the trip. How many put their hand up that they wanted to go? “None. We had to beg one person to go and represent us.”

Councillor Finn went on to comment that if you are 'a voice in the wilderness', you have to shout louder, and it was easy to criticise the councillors who are doing good work.

An attendee at the event in Chicago last year, Councillor Adrian Forkan highlighted important connections, such as the county's links with Hollister in the company HQ who fight for Mayo, delivering 1,200 jobs.

Cathaoirleach Councillor John O'Hara suggested Councillor Lawless place a motion down for the next meeting and they will discuss it. As chairman of Bonniconlon Show, he went all over the place. “If you put it all in an email you will get nothing,” he commented.

In a statement subsequent to the meeting, Councillor Lawless said when he tried to introduce a cost benefit analysis and review of each trip to determine the value to the taxpayer, ‘instead of reasoned debate, I was met with personal attacks and collective effort to silence scrutiny’.

In three consecutive meetings, they had approved six international delegations. “Is it too much to ask for a basic explanation of how these trips benefit the taxpayer who foots the bill?”

While vocal in his criticisms of these trips, he said that he is not calling for an outright ban on all foreign travel.

“I’m not closed-minded to some trips if they can prove their value,” he stated. “But councillors should first demonstrate the cost and value to the public before deeming such expenses worthwhile. I also want to see a review process introduced to determine its value to the taxpayer.”