Vote blocks expenses payments to councillors

A landmark City Hall vote has blocked the payment of conference and travel expenses to several Cork councillors.

Among the payments shot down was the fee to cover the attendance by Labour’s Michael Ahern — who is not contesting May’s local election — at a seminar entitled ‘Five-Week Countdown to Local Elections 2014’ at the Silver Tassie Hotel in Letterkenny, Co Donegal, from April 18-20.

For the first time in the lifetime of this council, councillors voted against approving this, and three other payments to councillors who either had or were due to attend other conferences.