ONE local councillor described the scenes at last Thursday’s adjourned meeting on the mayoral fund as “another new low” as regards conduct at public meetings in Limerick City and County Council.
Last Thursday at County Hall, Mayor John Moran made a third ditched attempt to deliver his mayoral funding briefing ahead of the local authority’s Budget 2026. After the previous week’s meeting erupted into chaos, the mood as they reconvened in the Dooradoyle chamber was certainly strained.
After some initial clearing of the air, there was a ray of hope that councillors, the executive, and Mayor might finally move forward with a proposed “reset” of how they go about their business and, on their third attempt, discuss the mayoral budget at hand.
However, after Council Príomh Chomhairleoir Cllr Catherine Slattery (FF) hit out at Mayor Moran for talking in her ear while chairing the meeting, things soon took a turn.
- External Walls: Up to €8,000 Grant
- Attic: Up to €1,500 Grant
- Cavity Walls: Up to €1,700 Grant
- Internal Dry Lining: Up to €4,500 Grant
“You’re sitting beside me Mayor and you’re making snide remarks to me, and I’m not going to put up with that. You just turned around to me and said, ‘are you going to silence me as well?’ I don’t appreciate that,” Cllr Slattery fumed.
Mayor Moran told Cllr Slattery that he would like to be able to give his mayoral fund briefing to discuss some of the serious issues around the monies going forward.
Cllr Michael Collins (FF) then took umbrage with the Mayor for taking €70,000 from Newcastle West Municipal District for a sweeper.
“How are you spending money foolishly on items that are not needed?” he asked.
Mayor Moran explained that the sweeper was for another district at their request to help them operate more efficiently.
At this point, he also took issue with Cllr Collins shouting at him.
“I think we’re trying to reset the mood in this chamber. We can have conversations without shouting with each other. You might have the robustness in your personal life, in your personality, to be shouting backwards or forwards, but not everyone does,” Moran commented.
In resopnse, Cllr Slattery accused the Mayor of being out of line and owing Cllr Collins an apology. Fianna Fáil councillor Kieran O’Hanlon called for a 10-minute adjournment following the Mayor’s remark.
25 minutes later, they briefly returned, before further chaos ensued again.
“I’m not taking any more of your intimidation or bullying while I’m at the top table,” Cllr Slattery told the Mayor.
“You’re interrupting me without having your mic on and saying things so people can’t hear. Going forward, I’m not accepting that. He’s still whispering things to me here,” she claimed.
Mayor Moran then asked for another 10-minute adjournment to reflect on what had just been said. On his return, he proposed the meeting be adjourned to another day to reset in the context of new information he had just received regarding funding.
Cllr O’Hanlon then told the Mayor that Cllr Collins was deeply offended by his earlier comment.
“Cllr Collins is a person of the highest character. He is highly experienced and highly respected. The fact that you differ with him is fine, but I can tell you Cllr Collins is deeply offended by what you said and there may be more about this so I’m limiting myself to what’s said,” Cllr O’Hanlon pointed out.
The Mayor said he was upset by the raised voices and apologised to Cllr Collins and told him he holds him in the highest regard.
Cllr Collins said he had been made aware that staff within the Council are raising issues against the Mayor.
“That might be acceptable to you, Mayor, to have issues with staff, but it’s not acceptable to me, and I have never raised my voice to any member of this organisation,” he insisted.
The meeting was adjourned after an hour, for a third time, without ever touching on the mayoral fund briefing.
– Local Democracy Reporting Scheme