Anger at Limerick city hall ‘fob off’
Fobs, which allowed councillors open access to all departments, have been deactivated and the elected representatives now have to make appointments if they wish to see officials.
The former mayor of Limerick, Cllr John Gilligan, said: “This is bureaurcacy gone mad and an insult to the people who have been elected to represent the people of the city on the new council. The council did not even have the courtesy to inform us that our fobs were deactivated. I found out when I went to see an official and the fob didn’t work.”
Cllr Gilligan said the new arrangement would lead to more paperwork and more items being referred to council meetings when these issues could be dealt with by a simple, short meeting with an official.
He said: “I used to go into City Hall a few days a week to meet with officials to deal with bread-and-butter issues affecting council tenants. I could meet with six or seven officials in different departments in the space of less than half an hour. It has worked very well in all the 24 years I have been dealing with city hall. Now I have to make individual appointments with individual officials who then have to leave their office and go down to the reception area.
“It is a load of tosh and choking the simple, effective one-to-one dialogue which got things done quickly and expediently. ”
A spokesperson for Limerick City and County Council said: “Councillors can access all employees of the local authority by telephone, email or by making an appointment to speak with a relevant staff member.”
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