BREAKING: Mayo County Council official apologises for holiday home boycott furore 

Embattled Director of Services for Housing with Mayo County Council, Tom Gilligan, has apologised for "any concern or distress” around the public discussion which a proposal he made about boycotting holiday home owners in Mayo has caused.

In a statement released by Mayo County Council on Thursday evening, the council official said, “the email circulated was an attempt to prompt internal discussion on a sensitive but relevant issue and it was not anticipated to be released before members had the opportunity to consider it fully and I sincerely apologise for any concern or distress it caused.”

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He went on to say that he is “deeply committed to addressing the complex housing challenges facing Mayo and to working collaboratively with councillors, stakeholders, and the community in doing so. My goal has always been to find solutions through open, respectful dialogue, and I remain fully committed to working in partnership to achieve that.”

Mayo County County has said it issued the statement as “a lot of confusion and disquiet remains evident”.

Mayo County Council also “wishes to highlight it’s sincere regret for the upset that this matter has caused to the elected members, the public and in particular, owners of second homes in County Mayo.”

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Echoing previous statements, the Council also emphasised that “the content of the email correspondence was not a statement of any formal policy proposal or position of the Council.”

It said that had the proposal not been ‘prematurely’ released to the media, it would have “been considered by the members of the SPC in the normal way and evidently would not have progressed any further.”