Galway County Council is keeping councillors in the dark by actively purchasing properties in towns and villages without alerting the local councillors, alleged Cllr Albert Dolan this week.
The Monivea-based Fianna Fáil councillor said that at every plenary meeting of Galway County Council, a monthly management report is distributed to the councillors, but that information about potential purchases is not communicated to the councillors, who are in many cases hearing it for the first time from their constituents.
'Cannot ensure oversight'
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"This is a management document outlining key activities which the council executive have undertaken in the previous month so as to keep councillors up to date with activities of the executive. But this report does not include this information and councillors are unaware of purchasing activities being undertaken in their municipal districts.
"Every month constituents inform me of the Council entering into negotiations to purchase properties in our towns and villages. While I understand this is an executive function, if councillors aren’t made aware of these activities then how can they ensure oversight over the council,” Cllr Dolan said.
'New elements'
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He proposed that new elements be included to the management report. "If the management report included metrics on a monthly basis outlining the performance of different departments in the month gone by, this would allow councillors to gain a better understanding of what is working and what isn’t,” he said.
In response, Chief Executive Kevin Kelly said the inclusion of such information is possible and could be facilitated for the members.
