'War' over Mayo council staffing levels

A CASTLEBAR councillor has pledged to 'go to war' if staffing levels in Mayo County Council aren't addressed.

Councillor Harry Barrett sent a clear message to the authority's chief executive when he voiced his concerns at a Castlebar Municipal District meeting.

There are shortages in the engineering department and the local housing office, where staff were 'stretched to the limit', he said.

Applications for housing can go on for weeks and weeks and it wasn't acceptable.

When you compared the housing section in Castlebar with Westport or Ballina, there was no comparison, he said.

“I will go to war with the chief executive on this in the new year,” he pledged.

Work is not getting done, he added, due to the lack of staff.