Flooding Demands The Moratorium On Council Staff Is Lifted – McGrath
Independent TD Mattie McGrath has called on the Chief Executive of Tipperary County Council Joe MacGrath to immediately lift the moratorium on council staff following the disastrous consequences of the recent flooding. Deputy McGrath said that while the existing council staff, particularly the outdoor staff has performed heroically during the crisis; there is also a clear and obvious need to increase the number of staff to reduce exhaustion and speed up the recovery process:
“Despite the current moratorium which has been in place since 2009, each County Council Chief Executive remains responsible for staffing of the local authorities under section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001.
This means that the Mr MacGrath as CEO of Tipperary County Council has the power and the discretion to lift the current ban on recruitment; a power I am calling on him to exercise immediately.
The huge spirit of volunteerism that has come to the fore in the county must now be complemented by the recruitment of additional staff given the scale of the crisis that is still facing us.
Even if such recruitment were on a fixed contract basis at least that would go some way toward alleviating the trauma that is out there.
As things stand the current staff is moving toward exhaustion as are the many volunteers that continue to help. So for health and safety reasons alone this is something that the CEO must act on,” concluded Deputy McGrath.
