Roche warns councils to mind their manners

BAD manners and the “voicemail scourge”, which infuriate those trying to get information from city and county councils, cannot and will not be tolerated, Environment Minister Dick Roche has warned.

Addressing local authority members yesterday, he said voicemail and emails cannot be used as veils behind which local authority officials can hide and refuse to answer questions from the public or local representatives.

It is an issue he has asked county managers to address, he told the Local Authority Members Association (LAMA) annual congress.