Neither minutes nor notes were taken at an ‘informal’ meeting between the senior Council staff and the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR), a meeting of Galway City Council heard this week.

It was previously revealed that there were no minutes for the meeting, which councillors were initially told ‘never happened’, but upon probing from Cllr Donal Lyons (Ind) this week, it was confirmed that City Hall could provide no informal notes either.

Concerns were raised by councillors that this meeting could represent a serious interference in the City Development Plan process which is a reserved function of elected representatives.

Cllr Frank Fahy (FG) said he found it “unbelievable” that no records existed of a meeting at which something as serious as the City Development Plan was discussed.

“I find it so unbelievable that on a subject so important to the city, with the OPR and the power that he has – what he did with our plan, dispensing with some of our plans – that nobody took a note or minutes.

“It’s not as if you’re meeting someone for a coffee or a scone,” blasted Cllr Fahy.

Cllr Lyons expressed similar incredulity and reiterated his anger that councillors had initially been told there had been “no communication from the OPR with members of City Council staff”.

He asked if the Chief Executive of the City Council had been in attendance but did not receive an answer.

Cllr Declan McDonnell (Ind) said he had met the Chief Executive of the OPR, Niall Cussen, at a “conference in Mullingar” who informed him that a member of his team had visited Galway, and when he put this to the Council Executive, he was “met with silence”.

Director of Services Uinsinn Finn said:“if it was silence, it wasn’t that we were trying to hide anything” and “totally disputed” any suggestion that due process was not followed.
This is a shortened preview version of this story. To read the rest of the article, see the November 17 edition of the Galway City Tribune. You can support our journalism and buy a digital edition HERE.