FG BACKLASH AS LIBRARY IS SAVED
CONTINUED ( PG 1) “The way it was used to provoke us into raising the Property Tax was wrong,” said Cllr Martin Baker.
Cllr Rosaleen O’Grady said she was very concerned for the existing library staff: “They’ve been the can that has been kicked around the road - it’s time to stop. The timing of the letter from the Minister’s office, I’m just not sure.
“For an application that was made by the CEO on Friday, they’re very efficient to have a reply back by 11.20am the following Monday. I’m a bit suspicious. We were asked to raise the Property Tax last week. The whip was out that the library was going to be closed - it’s no way to treat local government, it’s a disgrace,” she told the meeting.
“Insofar as I welcome it, I’m very suspicious of it. I’m glad I didn’t vote in a 15% raise in Property Tax to the already hard pressed people of Sligo,” she added.
Cllr Sean MacManus said: “we’ve busted the embargo but we have to ask the Government to get us out of this financial straitjacket”, referring to the current Financial Plan. “We need to keep the pressure on. I appeal to the Fine Gael deputy to make sure something is done to appease the financial situation,” he said.
Cllr Keith Henry said “I just thank God that we didn’t increase the Property Tax. That isn’t a position we should have been put in in the first place.”
Cllr Declan Bree also welcomed the news but pointed out that if the CEO had made formal submissions for extra staff earlier in the year the situation never would have arisen.
“We are certainly fortunate that we rejected the suggestion from the Fine Gael councillors to raise the Property Tax. We refuse to give in to blackmail. It was clearly an attempt by Fine Gael to impose more taxes. Fine Gael were attempting to get agreement from the councillors to impose a 15% increase in Property Tax, in return we were told the library would remain open. Obviously Fine Gael thought they could hoodwink the Fianna Fáil members ( because they knew us on the left wouldn’t change our position) but it has failed.”
“The people will remember that and certainly we will be advising them come next election time as to the position of Fine Gael,” he added.
Cllr Sinead Maguire said she stood by her position in favour raising the local Property Tax, saying it would have opened the door to further funding from the Government. “But that door has now closed and we have to take responsibility for that,” she said.
Cathaoirleach Cllr Huberty Keaney insisted that the proposal to raise the local Property Tax by 15% was his proposal alone, not Minister Simon Coveney’s or anyone else’s.
“It was my proposal that I brought to you as Cathaoirleach. I would do it tomorrow morning again and I possibly will do it next year when I won’t be Cathaoirleach,” he told members.
“The fundamental thing was that we were going to raise 4million euro for various groups that were screaming out for money and we could have attracted another 2 million euro in matching funding - projects you are screaming out for and that I will remind you of every time from now on. I will not tolerate people playing politics with this,” he said. “I will not see it put out that it was a Fine Gael proposal - it was mine as your Cathaoirleach and I had backing from some other councillors,” he added. CEO Ciaran Hayes said the recruitment process would start immediately.