All a matter of time! No olive branch as Longford councillors clash on change of meeting time

The changing of the time of the Longford Municipal District meeting was discussed at last week’s county council meeting.

The decision was strongly criticised by Cllr Peggy Nolan (FG). She succeeded in suspending standing orders as a result of her intervention on the issue.

Cllr Nolan told the meeting that on the FG side of the chamber, two members are teachers (Gerry Hagan and Niall Gannon).

The decision to move the timing of the monthly Longford Municipal meeting from 4pm until 11 am would greatly inconvenience the two teachers on the FG side, according to Cllr Nolan.

“Without discussion, there was a decision made to change the time of the meeting to 11am. All sides on the council should work together,” she told the meeting.

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“These two men need to be facilitated and I am asking for decency so that these men can attend the MD meetings,” Cllr Nolan added.

Cathaoirleach of Longford Municipal District, Cllr Seamus Butler (FF) rejected that the move to change the timing of the meeting was politically motivated.

“We have not gone out of our way to put people out,” he stated.

“There is always an option for members to attend a meeting online. My first meeting today was at 1.30pm,” Cllr Butler added.

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Cllr Paul Ross, the leader of FG in the council, stated that, “this was an attempt to exclude two of our members. As a council, we have spoken before about putting on the county jersey.”

Cllr Nolan was not satisfied with Cllr Butler’s comments. “There is no olive branch here. This needs to be a team effort. If we don’t work together, then we are going nowhere,” she stated.

County Council Cathaoirleach Mark Casey said, “I hope a reasonable solution is found.”

Speaking to The Leader in relation to the timing of the meeting, Cllr Butler explained the rationale behind the decision.

“The decision to change the time of the meeting was proposed and seconded by the MD. At that meeting, I asked Cllr Nolan if she had a counter proposal, and she said she didn’t,” he explained.

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“Council staff prefer that meetings would be changed to an earlier time, as meetings can spill over after 5pm. The times of the Ballymahon and Granard MD meetings have also changed, so Longford is not an outlier,” he stated.

Cllr Butler went on to say that some of the MD meetings will fall during school holidays.

“The next MD meeting (on July 23) will fall during the school holidays, as will the October meeting,” he stated.

“Teachers can make arrangements. They can also attend meetings online. Two of the four Fianna Fáil councillors in the Longford MD have jobs that require them to be on site. One of the councillors has to get a substitute for them at work if they attend a meeting,” Cllr Butler added.

Cllr Butler further stated that the timing can still be changed, if there are issues raised by members of the Longford MD.

“If there are difficulties raised, then the timing can be reviewed. It didn’t merit the reaction that it received at the meeting. It is a storm in a teacup,” he stated.

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