Council services ‘grinding to halt’ due to 700 job cuts

Services at Cork County Council are grinding to a halt, it has been claimed, because the local authority has laid off almost 700 people in the past few years.

The cuts accounted for about a quarter of the council’s workforce.

A steady trimming of contract workers and employees has continued since 2009.

Furthermore, with a Government embargo on local authority recruitment, retired officials are not being replaced.

Cllr Noel Collins (Ind) said the lack of staff, especially those working outdoors, meant the council “simply can’t keep pace” with demand.

Unless the Department of the Environment lifts the embargo, Mr Collins claimed local authority services would “soon fall into the hands of private enterprise”.

“The way things are going, in a year’s time, we will be in dire trouble,” he said.

Cllr John Mulvihill (Lab) described staff losses as “a complete and utter disaster”, while Cllr Seamus McGrath (FF) said routine jobs, such as “maintaining open spaces and cleaning drains”, were not being carried out.

Cllr Michael Hegarty (FG) claimed things were so bad local authority estates were in danger of falling into disrepair.

Cllr Gerard Murphy (FG) proposed the council be allowed to co-ordinate Community Employment Schemes and use such workers to ‘plug the gaps’.

The Mayor of County Cork, Cllr Tim Lombard (FG) said the council had lost nearly 25% of its workforce, which was putting a strain on staff and services in general.

Cllr Donal O’Rourke (FF) said it was time the Government carried out an audit on councils’ failure to deliver services instead of always concentrating on cost-cutting.