More than 10 members of Donegal County Council expressed no confidence in the county’s mayor Brendan Byrne, at a stormy special meeting of the council in Lifford yesterday. The meeting was adjourned five times, including once for “disorderly conduct”, In December, the council adopted a budget for 2010 in controversial circumstances.
The budget was passed with just nine Fianna Fáil councillors plus the Fianna Fáil mayor in the chamber. The remaining 19 councillors were at a meeting in a room nearby to discuss ways of amending proposals.
Fianna Fáil has been accused of “pulling a stroke” and the council’s powersharing agreement has fallen apart.
The council’s solicitors have confirmed the mayor
did not act illegally as there had been a quorum of councillors present.
However, non-Fianna Fáil members of the council have questioned the morality of the decision to adopt the controversial budget with two-thirds of the membership not present.
At yesterday’s meeting, Fianna Fáil councillors defended the mayor’s actions.