Travel sparks council row

FOREIGN travel has sparked a new row at Limerick County Council as 13 councillors and seven officials commence a four-day visit to Germany.

The cost to the council is about €13,000.

Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil members of the local authority were reportedly angered at a recent question tabled by Fine Gael member Cllr Jerome Scanlan about foreign travel by council chairpersons in recent years.

Those holding the chain of office have spent on average €10,000 a year on overseas trips.

Fianna Fáil members has called on all councillors to sign a letter of support for the current and previous chairpersons in response to the controversy surrounded the travels of various chairpersons.

Fine Gael has reacted angrily to the letter and are demanding to know how a county council franking machine was used to send out the letters to councillors.

Members were not contactable yesterday as 14 of the 28 members were on a foreign trip to the Hohenlohe area of Germany.

The council has been engaged in visits with the local council in Germany for more than 25 years.

Cllr Scanlon’s recent question revealed that over the past four years the chairpersons of the council cost the taxpayer €41,671 in foreign travel.

The chairman, Cllr Kevin Sheahan, recently returned from a visit to China. His travel costs came to €3,500.