Council chief executive says talk of library merger scaremongering

The chief executive of Westmeath County Council, Pat Gallagher, has said any talks of Westmeath Library Service merging with its Longford counterpart is no more than ‘scaremongering’.

Addressing councillors at their monthly meeting in Mullingar last Monday afternoon, Mr Gallagher said there was no proposal to change the role of members in the operation of the library service or to alter any services within the county.

He was reacting to news that elected members of the council had met representatives of the Impact Trade Union earlier in the day to discuss the proposal to amalgamate the Longford and Westmeath Library Service, with Longford becoming the lead agency.

Registering his surprise at the pre-council meeting get-together, Mr Gallagher said it was the first time in his management career he had come across a scenario where a trade union had engaged directly with elected members. He acknowledged that there are plans to develop a strategy for library services, covering the period from 2014 to 2018, and said negotiations would take place at a national level while management will meet staff at a local level.

However, Mr Gallagher assured the members that as things stand there is no proposal to change the status of the library service in Westmeath or the role of councillors in administering that service.

The matter had been brought to light by Cllr John Dolan, who advised the meeting that he, along with other elected representatives, had met trade union officials, representing the library staff, prior to the council meeting. They had been informed that staff operating the Westmeath Library Service were concerned about their futures, following the publication of the McCarthy Report, which suggested a merging of services in Longford and Westmeath.

“I would ask if this plan is in the offing, and if it is, I am opposed to it,” declared Cllr Dolan, who wondered when the elected members were going to be consulted.

Supporting Cllr Dolan, Sinn Féin’s Paul Hogan said a big concern in all this is the threat to smaller rural services. “It is very worrying going forward. Rationalisation of the service will diminish the service to the public. I totally oppose such a move.

“I would call on all elected members to support the retention of the current services. It makes very worrying reading,” Cllr Hogan concluded.

His party colleague, Una D’Arcy said the library service plays an “extremely important role in terms of rural communities”. She would not want to see Longford County Council making any decisions affecting Castlepollard branch library. “I object to any move which would diminish services,” said Cllr D’Arcy.

Fine Gael’s Tom Farrell also voiced his support for Cllr Dolan in his call for the retention of existing services.