Peter Hynes stands over decision

Tuesday, 10 May 2011 09:47

Mayo county manager Peter Hynes has defended the decision to purchase the Imperial Hotel in Castlebar for €800,000 despite the financial problems being experienced by Mayo County Council.
Mr. Hynes said the costs were being evenly split by the council and Castlebar Town Council.
"It was an opportunity that could not be passed up. We purchased the historic building at 30 per cent of its value."
He was responding to concerns raised by Councillor Michael Kilcoyne and Councillor Blackie Gavin in relation to the deal. Sports Minister Michael Ring had also questioned the decision.
Councillor Kilcoyne said it was strange how the council had money to buy a hotel at a time when it wanted to reduce its payroll costs by seeking 152 redundancies.
He stated he was not happy with the manager's report. "There has been no indication about how much it will cost to refurbish the property.
"I intend to raise further questions at the forthcoming meetings of the Castlebar electoral area committee and Castlebar Town Council."
Councillor Gavin wanted to know where the money came from to complete the purchase as the issue was causing a great deal of debate in the county town.
Councillor Henry Kenny said the proposal to buy the Imperial Hotel was first raised by Councillor Ger Deere, Mayor of Castlebar, at a meeting of the local town council in July 2010.
"I raised the matter myself at a meeting of the Castlebar electoral area committee last October. It was recorded in the minutes and neither Councillor Kilcoyne nor Councillor Gavin questioned the matter.
"The purchase of the hotel is an entirely separate matter to the voluntary redundancy issue.
"The building is part of our history and should be maintained for the future in the same way as Turlough Park House was renovated and maintained," he added.