There was a huge dispute between councillors of Graiguecullen-Portarlington Municipal District, with the Fianna Fáil councillors accused of “an election stunt” by their political rivals.
The issue, which stemmed from an annual fund available to each of Laois’s three Municipal Districts, spilled over into the May meeting of Laois County Council.
The €25,000 funding is supposed to be set aside for one community project each year in each District.
The money is on top of the councillors’ individual discretionary fund, which they generally use towards smaller projects, such as additional speed ramps, hedge cutting, and lighting.
The controversy arose when Fianna Fáil councillors Padraig Fleming and Paschal McEvoy told the Graiguecullen-Portarlington Municipal District that they had been contacted by Knockbeg College in relation to the road at the school.
Following the meeting, the Fianna Fáil councillors were convinced that the District’s €25,000 should be spent on widening the road at Knockbeg by one foot (30cm) “in the interest of safety.”
Independent Cllr Ben Brennan was apoplectic, accusing the Fianna Fáil councillors of an “election stunt.”
Cllr Brennan said he has focused his attention and his discretionary fund on all the road-safety improvements made in the area around Knockbeg College over the past five years.
The Independent councillor questioned why only the two Fianna Fáil Cllrs were contacted, and not all six elected members of the Municipal District.
Fellow Independent councillor Aisling Moran raised concerns that no engineers were present at the meeting, saying widening the road by just one foot would not solve any of the traffic issue around Knockbeg.
The Independent councillors said they would not agree to the Fianna Fáil proposal.
A vote was the called, which Fianna Fáil won by three votes to two, with Fine Gael Cllr PJ Kelly voting with Cllr Fleming and Cllr McEvoy.
Sinn Féin Cllr Aidan Mullins had left the meeting before this proposal was raised and so could not take part in the vote.
Cllrs Brennan and Moran were further disgruntled when no vote was taken for their alternative proposal for a development at Saplings Special School in Killeshin.
The issue arose again at this week’s full Council meeting, with Cllr Moran protesting the validity of the vote, saying all decisions for the €25,000 fund needed to be unanimous.
Cllr Moran said the fund was designed for community projects, not for roads.
Cllr Brennan said the Knockbeg project did not meet the intended criteria of the €25,000 fund, saying it is “unfair to ring-fence money like that.”
He finished by saying: “I hope you’re happy with the decision you’ve made – you should be ashamed of yourselves.”
