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Kilkenny TD slams Waterford councillors over attendance at cross-border meetings

Kilkenny TD slams Waterford councillors over attendance at cross-border meetings

A south Kilkenny minister has slammed Waterford city councillors for their poor attendance at cooperative meetings between representatives either side of the border.

Six Waterford councillors are expected to meet the councillors representing the Piltown area regularly to cooperate on development issues, especially those relating to Ferrybank.

However the poor attendance was revealed at a summer sitting of Waterford Council, where councillors said they felt the meetings were unnecessary.

This has been strongly criticised by Fine Gael's John Paul Phelan, who was appointed as Minister of State for Local Government and Electoral Reform earlier this year following a campaign for Ferrybank and other parts of his constituency to be revised as part of the Waterford area.

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John Paul Phelan was the poor attendance by Waterford councillors is outrageous, and legislation should be brought in to ensure joint cooperation between neighbouring counties.

However Waterford city councillor Joe Kelly said forcing the councillors through legislation was akin to using 'a sledgehammer to crack a nut'.

He said councillors did attend the meetings just not every one. He said they had a tendency to become a 'complaints shop', and the minister should leave the local authorities resolve the issue between themselves.

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