Bah humbug as Council gets stung for lights bills

Galway City Council will have to stump up two-thirds of the cost of erecting the city’s Christmas lights this year because large national and multi-national retailers have refused to cough up.

That’s according to local businessman and councillor Niall McNelis (Lab) who said it was the small family-owned enterprises that were being relied upon to fund the lights – and it wasn’t possible for them alone to fund the almost €70,000 cost of lighting-up the streets and storing the lights when they come down.

“Galway City Council is making a large contribution to lights because a large number of the big chains don’t contribute.

“My understanding is that the City Council is paying 67% of the cost of the lights and the total cost is around €68,000 – that’s to store them too. It’s not just a matter of putting them up; you have to have qualified electricians and be considerate of health and safety,” said Cllr McNelis.

A spokesperson for Galway City Council confirmed to the Galway City Tribune that a request had been made on behalf of the local business groups for an increase in funding for the Christmas lights and an offer had been made.

“Galway City Business Association and a number of other business associations in the city made their concerns known to us and following discussions internally in Galway City Council, there has been an offer made in relation to Christmas lights,” he said.

The spokesperson confirmed that the offer was in the region of €45,000 in grant funding, which represented a 50% increase on the amount provided by the local authority last year.

“Obviously, the City Council wouldn’t see the town stuck coming into the Christmas period. It’s also a hugely significant economic issue in relation to the whole Christmas offering in Galway,” he continued.

Cllr McNelis said this funding from the Council, coupled with the finances raised from businesses in the GCBA, Latin Quarter, East Village, Woodquay Traders’ Association, the Village Salthill and West End Traders would ensure that there was plenty of festive cheer in the city this Christmas.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

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