Taxpayers fund Council official’s €12,000 Harvard course

Around €12,000 of taxpayers’ money was spent educating a senior manager of Galway City Council at a prestigious American university this summer.

The City Council and LGMA (Local Government Management Agency) shared the cost of the three-week course at the John F Kennedy School of Government in Harvard University, Massachusetts, which was attended by Director of Services, Tom Connell.

A spokesperson for City Hall said it is committed to investing in its staff so that they can respond to the challenges they face and better serve the people of Galway.

Mr Connell, Director of Services with responsibility for Housing and Social Inclusion, Environment and Recreation and Amenity, was one of four senior executives from around Ireland who attended the university this year.

The programme was described by Galway City Council Chief Executive, Brendan McGrath as “a one in a lifetime opportunity” in correspondence to staff. He  attended the course from July 6 to July 24.

LGMA, a State agency, confirmed that it paid for the cost of the Programme for Senior Executives in State and Local Government.

It amounted to $12,400 (around €10,900), which included tuition and meals and accommodation on campus.

The City Council paid for return flights from Shannon to Boston, which amounted to €962.62, as well as for expenses amounting to €266.45 for accommodation either side of the course start date at Irving House at Harvard.

A Council spokesperson said  staff numbers have been cut, and its budget has been cut and the local authority is facing huge pressures and its staff needs to be up-to-date on training in order to respond to those challenges.

For more on this story, see this week’s Galway City Tribune