“Time To End Culture Of Junkets” Says Cllr Wallace

At the November meeting of Carlow Council members were asked to approve sending a delegation from Carlow Council, consisting of the cathaoirleach, Cllr Fintin Phelan, to Algeciras in Spain but this was met with some opposition from the chamber.

People Before Profit cllr Adrienne Wallace said “I have consistently opposed publicly funded trips abroad for elected reps but this particular project has me puzzled. It is part of the relatively new Urbact Project that is partly funded by the EU and partly funded by Carlow council. The delegation is travelling abroad to learn more about “urban gardening” but there are already a number of allotments and urban garden schemes in Carlow that the council can learn from. That money would be better spent in the hands of the community who are already developing these gardens.”

Cllr Wallace added “When I inquired as to how much this was costing the taxpayer I was refused an answer by the executive and the cathaoirleach travelling. This seems to me to be a conflict of interest. Year after year the council imposes a Property Tax on households across Carlow but refuses to ‘tighten their own belts’ when it comes to saving money. Last year nearly €30,000 was saved when these trips were cancelled due to Covid; that money should continue to be spent in the community.”