‘Shelve cakes and coffee to deliver a property tax cut for Limerick folk’

COUNCILLORS should order the removal of cakes, sandwiches, tea and coffee from meetings, and pass the saving onto local taxpayers.

That’s the view of local Sinn Fein member Sharon Benson, who pushed for a 15% reduction in the Local Property Tax (LPT) at the monthly meeting.

She believes in a cost-of-living crisis, the local authority should remove all unnecessary spending – including the refreshments given out to members when attending meetings in the Dooradoyle chamber.

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At each council meeting in Limerick, representatives are offered a variety of light refreshments, coffee and tea.

But councillor Benson argued: “We don’t need it – there’s a canteen upstairs if councillors really want to get something. Or they can bring their lunch with them if they know there’s not going to be anything there.”

She pointed out that on a Monday at the start of last month, the refreshment table was replenished three times.

“We started at 9.45am, and there was stuff outside before the meeting – chocolate croissants, scones and whatever. When we came out of it, as the meeting ran on, there were sandwiches and fruit, and it was topped up again later as another meeting came in. It’s ridiculous,” the City North councillor said.

Her initial comments came during a debate on the LPT, with Sinn Fein expressing opposition to a 15% raise in the scheme to pay for improvements.

Ultimately, her party were outvoted with the LPT increasing by 15% above the base rate next year. In real terms though, it will stay the same, as since councillors have exercised their power to vary the rate, they have always chosen a 15% hike.

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“We are talking about varying the rate, but that rate inevitably comes out of the pockets of people who might not be able to put food on the table themselves. Council can make savings on unnecessary costs, and I see this as an unnecessary cost,” she said, joking that she will buy and share a box of tea bags with any councillor who asks.

Councillor Benson’s suggestion was criticised, in particular by Fine Gael’s Adam Teskey.

He said: “It’s very easy to criticise what I think is one of the most efficient ways to deliver back to the end user by this source of income. It’s easy to come in and be populist and say get rid of a few sandwiches and cups of tea. But when you’re doing this, you’d better replace it with beef, pork and chicken!”