The Mayor of Galway, Cllr Terry O'Flaherty, has defended the cost of mayoral transport in the city and has said that figures quoted by a Fine Gael local election candidate are "misleading".
The Progressive Democrats councillor said yesterday the actual transport cost amounts to €754 a week, and this includes having an experienced driver on call seven days a week.
The mayor, who has been in office for 11 months, said it would be impossible to attend the large number of functions she is invited to without the support of a car and driver. In Galway, mayoral transport is provided on contract by a private company to the city council, using a Mercedes, while in Dublin, Cork and Limerick the transport is sponsored by motor suppliers.
Ms O'Flaherty was responding to claims made about the transport costs by Fine Gael's local election candidate in the city's west ward, Mr Pádraig Conneely. Mr Conneely said that the transport for Galway's first citizen was running at €1,000 a week, which was more than the total cost of such transport in Dublin, Cork and Limerick. He said that he had proposed that a car dealer supply such transport on the same basis in Galway.
Mr Conneely said that the cost of mayoral transport amounted to almost €240,000 over five years, and claimed that he had obtained the figures under the Freedom of Information Act.
The mayor said yesterday her transport costs amounted to €37,722 a year. "Would Mr Conneely prefer the mayor of our city to arrive on a bicycle or a banger?" she said.
