Council chief denies rural areas being ‘completely left behind’ by budget

THE Chief Executive of Mayo County Council has rejected an assertion that rural areas are being ‘completely left behind’ by the council’s €201 million budget.

Kevin Kelly was responding to complaints from Achill-based councillor Paul McNamara about a lack of funding for the salting and repair of local roads in Achill.

Overn €60 million was allocated to road safety and transport in Mayo County Council’s 2024 budget – an increase of over €5 million.

Cllr McNamara claimed that his area was not reaping the benefits of the Local Property Tax (LPT), which raised €2.2 million for Mayo County Council in 2023.

The LPT must be ring-fenced for the municipal area in which it was gathered.

However, Cllr McNamara claimed rural areas being ‘completely left behind’, saying that roads in his area were in ‘an appalling state’ and not being salted during heavy frost. He also hit out at a lack of funding for graveyards in the council’s budget, which he said were ‘totally dependent’ on voluntary organisation’ for their upkeep.  

Mr Kelly said that he was ‘struck’ by Cllr McNamara’s comments, arguing that people benefited from council expenditure any time they travelled to other parts of the county.

He noted that councillors in many local authorities do not have access to a General Municipal Allocation.

Mr Kelly added that councillors in Mayo were able to spend ‘multiples’ on local projects compared to councillors in other counties.