COUNCILLORS HAVE BETRAYED PEOPLE

THE COUNCILLORS WHO voted to impose the County Council’s austerity budget do not have a mandate to do so and they have betrayed the interests of many of those who voted for them, said Cllr Declan Bree when he addressed a meeting of the United Left Alliance in Sligo.

“Despite the fact that the Council had been provided with increased funding by the Department of the Environment, the Fine Gael, Labour and the independent labour Chairperson of the Council Cllr Veronica Cawley, voted to impose the most savage cut- backs ever witnessed at Council level in Sligo.” said Cllr Bree.

“The decision to slash funding for grants for the disabled cannot be justified under any circumstances and the decision to cut the housing aid for the elderly schemes by 40% will leave many older people without the supports they require

“The vote to remove funding and support for community groups, arts and heritage organisations, and groups promoting tourism will have far reaching implications.

“The decision to slash the maintenance budget for council houses by 75% while at the same time increasing rent income by 12.5% tells its own story. Council tenants will be expected to pay rents amounting to €2.25million while only €100,000 will be invested in maintaining the housing stock. It would appear that the surplus funding will be used to pay senior officials and to pay off banks loans.” Cllr Bree said.

“Funding for recreational development, for parks, pitches and open spaces has also been cut to the bone.

“The decision to slash the library book fund to a miserly €10,000 will decimate the public library service in Sligo. This type of cut in the library service would not be accepted anywhere else in Ireland. Libraries are a cultural resource of universal benefit yet the service in Sligo has been targeted by the philistines in Fine Gael and Labour.

“While these savage cuts are being imposed millions of euros from the Council’s budget are being diverted to pay interest on huge loans which the same councillors foolishly voted for in recent years.

“In July 2010, the County Manager asked the members of the Council to authorise borrowing of €18 million by way of a term loan of €15 million and a temporary overdraft of €3 million. Councillors were told then that the main reasons for the loan and overdraft totaling €18 million was because there was an accumulated deficit on the revenue account of €7.5 million and that there was expenditure of approx €10 million on capital related activity that awaited funding. The majority of councillors voted for the County Manages proposal.

“However despite the fact that the Council borrowed the money to clear the €7.5 million deficit in 2010 it was discovered last year that not one cent of the deficit was cleared.

“Yet these councillors continue to dance to the County Managers tune. Only two months ago the same councillors voted to take out yet another loan, this time a sum of €7.5 million, to replace overdraft borrowings which they had actually increased by that stage to the banks overdraft limit of €7.5 million. It never stops.

“Now the Fine Gael and Labour councillors and the Independent labour Chairperson of the Council are imposing savage cutbacks so as to allow Council funds to be diverted to pay off interest on loans that were clearly unsustainable and should never have been sought.

“When those councillors went forward for election they talked about improving and extending council services. In the period since the election they have performed U-turn after U-turn. They have accepted levels of ineptitude and mismanagement that would not be tolerated in any other local authority in Ireland and they have reduced the level of Council services in this county to an all time low. They have betrayed the trust of the people” said Cllr Bree.