Axing Seanad saves money – but expanding Council costs half a million
Galway County Council will have to find €200,000 to accommodate an additional nine councillors in the council chamber – and taking into account the wages and expenses these new councillors will receive, the overall bill will hit half a million euro.
And it has been confirmed that these costs will have to be incurred by the Council itself which means that there will be less money to fill potholes or cut verges on the roads.
In a week when the Government is basing its entire campaign for Seanad abolition on the saving to the exchequer, the fact that the addition of nine councillors should incur such a cost as well as paying wages and expenses has been blasted as a scandal.
There has to be a reconfiguration of the council chamber in Galway County Council to accommodate the additional nine councillors and it will result in a hefty bill for the local authority.
Galway County Council will have to absorb the cost of modifications to County Hall which means that the provision of essential services will be compromised to some degree.
The local authority has estimated that it will cost between €100,000 and €200,000 to modify the council chamber to accommodate the additional nine councillors.
It was decided in the reform of local government that the number of councillors elected in County Galway would be increased from 30 to 39.
See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.