LIMERICK County Council have been called into question for refusing a request by a councillor to spend his discretionary funding allocation on public lighting at a local school.
However, the message relayed was that such money was not theirs to put public lighting at every school, and that they would have to “get real”. The controversy arose when Newcastle West Cllr Damien Riedy FG, sought to put his €14,000 annual discretionary funding towards such a cause at Killoughteen school, but the request was turned down.
“This is a newly built national school that also functions a polling station, and in the winter months it is so dark there in the mornings that you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face,” he told the Limerick Post.
“Temporary lighting had to be arranged in a panic at the last election, and with the presidential election coming up, it makes practical sense to secure permanent lighting .
“Discretionary funding should be just that; money that a councillor can spend how he chooses”.
However, Paul Crowe, director of services in the roads department, told a Transportation and Infrastructure SPC meeting that discretionary funding must be spent on high labour contracts, using the council’s own staff.
“Public lighting is not a high labour contract. The work will go to the ESB, or whatever company takes up the contract, not to our own staff.
“We are trying to keep council employees in their jobs so discretionary funding has to be used on roads”.
He said the money was not theirs to put public lighting at every school and that councillors would have to “get real”.
Mr. Crowe added that the lighting issue may be a matter for the department of education and not the council.
Cllr Liam Galvin weighed in that the school was willing to contribute towards the cost by fund-raising and that the ground work had already been put in.
“If Cllr Riedy is willing to put his discretionary funding towards this issue, he should be allowed to.
“This is a safety issue that the council are ignoring”.
He recalled that a precedent was set when the council intervened with a pedestrian crossing at Athea School, which was also a safety matter.
Cllr Riedy confirmed that he would bring the matter of expenditure of discretionary funding to the full council, seeking an amendment to the policy.
