Answers demanded after Laois Co Council removed parking space without councillors approval

ANSWERS were demanded of Laois County Council at the latest meeting of the Portlaoise Municipal District for the lack of notice elected members received for the installation of a new Parklet on lower Main Steet.

A motion, put forward by Councillor Catherine Fitzgerald at the latest meeting of the Portlaoise Municipal District, sought an explanation for the lack of consultations about the removal of an old parking space and the installation of a new Parklet. The motion rolled into a pronounced discussion about "unelected members" of LCC disregarding the elected one.

A parklet is a community space, often and in this case devoted to outdoor dining, that is converted out of the area taken up by existing parking infrastructure.

Before the row began however, a representative of Laois County Council tried for an explanation:

"The Portlaoise MD Office has worked in collaboration with Portlaoise Tidy Towns and the Climate Action Department to facilitate the new Parklet as a community initiative in the Portlaoise town centre as part of the Community Climate Action Fund … while the office did not forewarn members when it came to the Parklet it is acknowledged that it will do so in future particularly where there is likely to be a big impact in terms of parking spaces."

Explaining the rationale behind her motion, Councillor Fittzgerald highlighted the number of people, in particular business owners along main street, who had come to her with strong concerns about the recent removal of the parking space. While it was true, she said, that the community as a collective were trying to encourage cycling, the Councillor believed that such moves shouldn't come at the expense of older people or people with mobility issues. The Councillor said:

"Local business owners have expressed deep disappointment not only with the removal of the parking space but with the way they have been treated throughout the process. Many business owners believe they weren't treated well or consulted throughout this process …. decisions that affected them and their customers should be made with their full involvement."

The motion was seconded by Councillor Caroline Dwane Stanley who had little positive to say about how Laois County Council had, in her view, left elected members out to dry. She said:

"And with the best of respect I fully support what Catherine has said but the missing part in the room is the seven elected members in this chamber who represent the Portlaoise Municipal District."

The Councillor decried a state of affairs where unelected members were making decisions for the community, a situation where if someone asked her what was going on with that parking space she would be forced into admitting that she has no idea. The Councillor also noted the fact that whenever any of the elected members ask for something as small as a billiard that they are encouraged to spend their Discretionary Income, implying the constant tightness of the budget. And yet, wondered the Councillor, there was the money for the parking space project, seemingly conjured from nowhere.

"I want to know how much this cost and where the money came from … No longer can we let the unelected members call the shots. And this will change because I'm going to keep raising it."

In response a representative of the Area Office said that they strongly believed that in the lion's share of examples there was strong consultation between the staff of Laois County Council and elected members but admitted that on this occasion they "got it wrong" and should have communicated better with the Councillors.

 Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme