HUNGRY councillors have criticised members of the public, or “every Tom, Dick and Harry”, who attend meetings at Enniskillen Townhall and The Grange in Omagh and eat their food. 
They have been, attempting at least, to eat and drink their way through £19,000 of food and refreshments a year, paid for by the ratepayer, but new proposals by officials has left a bad taste in their mouths.
In a bid to reduce cost and waste during the 94 meetings that take place annually Fermanagh and Omagh District Council proposed that its 40 councillors eat in the in-house canteen and not in the chamber as some have been doing. 
Celine McCartan, the Council’s Director of Corporate Services and Governance, told last week’s Policy and Resources meeting in Enniskillen that she was “actively looking to reduce costs” in this respect.
Democratic Unionist Councillor Errol Thompson hit out at members of the public who he has observed “up on second and third occasions filling their plates” during meetings of the planning committee. 
“You don’t mind people having a cup of tea but when you see them up feeding themselves,” he said, explaining that recently he and other councillors were left without anything to eat as a result. 
“By the time we got up to get something to eat it was all gone... every Tom, Dick and Harry is up filling their face,” he said.
Sinn Fein’s John Feely said he “missed half the meeting” the week before because he was eating in the canteen downstairs and added: “If we are going to make food I think it should be available for councillors going to the meeting.”
“If I am late into the meeting my usual complaint is the whole food has been eaten, I have never come in and there’s been oceans of food left over,” said Sinn Fein’s Sheamus Greene.
Ulster Unionist’s Howard Thornton described the planning meeting as a “fiasco” and criticised those who attend for “feeding from the Council.” 
“Everybody that’s attending planning meetings including agents are stuffing their faces; it’s wrong, I don’t know how we can justify it. We can’t be seen to be supplying half the country,” he said.
Sinn Fein’s Stephen McCann disagreed, saying: “They don’t come for a cup of tea or a chicken goujon, they are architects, consultants who may have travelled from Belfast.”
Independent Councillor Sorcha McAnespy said food wastage was a “disgrace” and asked that the Council consider healthier options and “less bread” while Josephine Deehan praised the “beautiful chicken kebabs.” 
Independent Councillor Joanne Donnelly queried if the chicken kebabs needed to have an “appropriate cooling time” before they could be stored again and in a bid to cut out wastage she added: “I am pretty sure... if there’s a handful of sandwiches that there would be staff here you could say ‘there’s a couple of sandwiches for you guys’.”
Ulster Unionist Robert Irvine suggested holding meetings during the day to “cut out the hangers on”, a point Councillor Greene disagreed with. 
“Hangers on? Tom, Dick and Harry? These are ratepayers we are talking about,” he said. 
“I have yet to see any of the councillors brave enough to call them hangers on and tell them not to eat our food,” said Councillor Feely. 
“I am going to be very direct,” said Chief Executive Brendan Hegarty. “You are not entitled to get food provided to you, you are entitled to claim sustenance, it’s not the Council’s responsibility.”
“No doubt people will try to make headlines out of this debate tonight,” he said. 
After much discussion, Councillors agreed with the recommendation that food and drink should be consumed in the canteen.