FINE Gael councillor Stephen Keary was not impressed with the agenda of a Limerick Council Strategic Policy Committee (SPC) meeting this week and made it clear that he wanted constructive issues, in line with policy being dealt with, and “not rubbish from Riverfest”.
Speaking at Monday’s Economic Development, Enterprise, Tourism and Planning SPC, Cllr Keary described the 105-minute meeting as a “sham” and claimed that they hadn’t discussed anything constructive in the line of policy. He pointed out to the council executive that this is the whole point of an SPC.
“What’s the bloody Riverfest got to do with policy?” he asked after a presentation on the annual May Bank Holiday Weekend festival.
“Ye had two items that took up the whole meeting .”
Chair of the SPC, Cllr Peter Doyle (FG) took the view that the SME Action Plan, which they also received a presentation on, is policy.
Cllr Keary was having none of it.
“We discussed that previously, the Adare-Rathkeale representative pointed out.
Cllr Dan McSweeney (FG) was equally unimpressed with the agenda of the Economic Development SPC.
“If the SME is policy, ye went out of the room and created the policy document without us, and I fully support Cllr Keary, today has been the biggest waste of my time to come in and get two presentations,” he fumed.
Cllr McSweeney went on to question whether the committee intended to actually deal with policy, or to just take it out of the chamber?
“That’s what seems to be going on,” the Patrickswell man suggested.
Cllr Keary took the view that there were some very important events coming down the track regarding the revision of the County Development Plan. He believed that they should be having more briefings on this instead of being “kept in the dark”.
“There was a policy change at the March meeting, which was fantastic, but when I rang up the senior planner looking for further information, she fobbed me off. We decided here that the substandard road issue was being taken out of the current plan and not to become a hindrance on a planning application. The Council are now trying to baulk on it again. Make up ye’re minds lads!
“This is the stuff I want at the next meeting not rubbish from Riverfest,” he declared.
The Council took him to task on this remark, hailing Riverfest as a “huge huge important event for Limerick”.
“I think it’s unfair to call it rubbish,” council management told Cllr Keary.
When members asked for a briefing on the Ryder Cup, Cllr Keary pointed out that it was Ryder Cup Europe and not the local authority they needed to be talking to.
“Ye’re input is very limited. I’ve been at meetings and ye’re only talking about trivia,” he concluded.