Three county councillors and a local TD have said that they should have been invited to alleged meetings on the Loughrea Day Care Centre between the HSE and the Topping Trust.
A joint statement issued by Seán Canney TD and Cllrs Declan Kelly, Shane Curley and Geraldine Donohue today claim that a Fine Gael councillor said he had been invited to two meetings in relation to plans for a new day care centre.
The three councillors and Deputy Canney said that Cllr Michael Moegie Maher made the admission at a recent Loughrea Municipal meeting.
The HSE has stated that it had not organised any such meetings.
Deputy Canney said that the fact that a public representative is stating he was invited and this is being denied by the HSE is a concern and needs clarification.
“It is still a fact that the decision to Close the Seven Springs Day Centre is wrong and the decision needs to be reversed,” he said.
Cllr Geraldine Donohue said that utilising funding from the Topping Trust to finance the re-location of Day Care Services to the ‘Old Workhouse’ is supported by Ciaran Cannon TD and Cllr Maher.
She said that Deputy Cannon has been a trustee member of the Toppings Trust since 2010, and that many of her constituents are asking if there is a conflict of interest there.
“It is also very concerning that Cllr Moegie Maher stated at the February and April Municipal District Meeting of Loughrea that he was invited by the HSE and the Toppings Trust to a series of meetings,” said Cllr Donohue.
“As a public representative since 2019, I ask why are not all councillors invited to such meetings and why is this exclusive to Cllr Maher.”
Cllr Declan Kelly said: “It defies belief that one councillor would be invited to critically important meetings about the future of Loughrea Day Care Centre and all other local representatives would be deliberately excluded.
“Effectively, it shows complete disregard for the democratic process and for the 2,500 signatories of the petition to reopen the facility which was purpose-built just over a decade ago.”
Cllr Shane Curley said that any meetings should be open to all elected representatives to attend.
