Fianna Fáil councillors on Cork County Council tried to shoe-horn an ill-thought out proposal into the council budget in another example of their reckless ways, a Fine Gael councillor has said.
Cllr John Paul O’Shea said, “Fianna Fáil wanted to transfer €1m to outdoor services without any evidence as to how that money would be replaced in the county’s reserves.
“When this was voted down the party then proceeded to vote against the budget, risking an expenditure of more than €340m in services and supports for the citizens of Co Cork.
“Passing a council budget is one of the most important duties we as councillors have and to behave in this irresponsible way shows once again that FF simply can’t be trusted with finances at a local level, as well as at national level.
“The council budget allocates funding for local services from social housing, to local amenities including parks and playgrounds, as well as funding for our roads, footpaths and council services.
“To try to scupper the budget at the last minute because there was no support for their bizarre idea about taking money out of the reserves shows that FF have not learned from their past mistakes which decimated our economy.
“My colleague Deputy Peter Burke, complied a report earlier this year which found that the party has called for at least €4.35bn spending in just six months – a whopping €24m per day.
“Yet faced with the figures, Fianna Fáil has no answer as to how this math adds up.
“This reckless attitude clearly filters down to all levels of the party,” Cllr O’Shea concluded.
