Sligo's county manager threatened to withdraw staff from a meeting of the county council yesterday, saying he would not allow them to be bullied by councillors.
The warning came after Sligo's mayor, Cllr Declan Bree, wondered aloud whether "the people at the top table know what is going on", during discussions on the county development plan.
The manager, Mr Hubert Kearns, said he was not going to tolerate personal comments about staff members and if it happened he would withdraw them.
Mr Bree, a former Labour TD for Sligo/Leitrim, insisted he had made no personal comments about staff. It was his understanding that the only bullying within the council had been done by other staff members.
"I believe that is under investigation," said Mr Bree. "Let us be very clear. I know who is doing the bullying in this council and the public will know in due course."
Cllr Paul Conmy (FG) said: "Cllr Bree is only after coming back from Cuba".
The chairwoman, Cllr Margaret Gormely, said she was disappointed at how the meeting was turning out, given its importance. Members were meeting to discuss over 200 submissions received in connection with the draft development plan and the manager's recommendations.
Ms Gormely indicated she was willing to hold two or three meetings, if necessary, to discuss the manager's report.
She warned councillors it was going to be a "long haul" and said she did not want any back-biting. "The officials have put a lot of time and effort into this and we should afford them the courtesy and respect they deserve."
Mr Bree said he would question every paragraph in the report that he considered should be questioned.
Mr Kearns said the purpose of the meeting was to allow councillors to scrutinise and change any paragraph they wanted, but they were not entitled to make personal comments.
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