A special meeting of Mayo County Council planned for this Friday (May 5th) to discuss refugee/migrant accommodation in the county has been cancelled.

Cathaoirleach of the authority, Seamus Weir, says that from discussions he has had in recent days with council members and party whips it is clear to him that the support for a motion seeking the meeting, submitted jointly by Councillors Peter Flynn (FG), Michael Kilcoyne (Independent) and Damian Ryan (FF) does not exist.

The contentious motion read: "Having regard to the recent and sudden population increase in towns and villages in Mayo, and in the absence of a clear strategy to ensure the delivery of critical services (medical, policing, education, etc.), that Mayo County Council no longer co-operates with the intake of Ukrainian refugees (BOTP) and international protection asylum seekers (IPAS) into the county until the aforementioned strategy is prepared, resourced and delivered.

Councillor Ryan has since indicated that he has changed his mind and was withdrawing his support for the proposed meeting.

While the 11-strong Fine Gael councillors on Mayo County Council have called for the proposed gathering to be cancelled.  A number of councillors had indicated they would not be attending if the meeting went ahead.

Cathaoirleach Weir has been telling Midwest News Editor Teresa O’Malley  why Friday’s meeting has been cancelled….