Cllr Keith Martin of Westport Town Council says he is dismayed at the refusal by Westport Town Council to issue an emergency permit to the Westport Food and Craft Market which would have allowed them to trade on Sunday as part of the Westport Music Festival. The market had been invited to trade by the organisers of the Music Festival.

It had been planned that the Food and Craft Market, who supply locally made food and crafts, would be trading during the festival, however due to an administrative error by the Market committee, the €30 permit had not been applied for prior to the weekend.

Cllr Keith Martin, who is the chairman of the Westport Food and Craft Market, says that as soon as he was informed of the problem he contacted the council only to be told that the licence would not be issued under any circumstances. Cllr Martin says he and his committee offered to submit the €30 fee and paperwork immediately but to no avail.

Council officials contacted the Gardai and the Town’s Traffic warden’s who instructed the traders, who were selling their wares that they would not be permitted to trade on the Sunday.

Cllr Martin says “It was a disgraceful situation. Just because of a small error local producers were denied the chance to take part in Sunday’s Music Festival. We did all we could to correct the situation but the acting Town Manager, Mr Martin Keating, refused, outright, to grant us an emergency permit. This is a perfect example of the worst kind of bureaucracy, where red tape and permits are allowed to prevent a simple local producers market from trading. This damages the market.

“At all of the major events of the town, be it Christmas, St Patrick’s Day or whatever we have been there on the streets bringing the finest of foodstuffs, crafts and a bit of colour to the town and when we need a bit of help we are denied it. It is not right that officials refused a local market to trade on one of the busiest weekends of the year. This market is a hobby for most of our members and I think we were treated in a heavy-handed and haughty way by the Acting Town Manager.

“As a Councillor when I request some help for a local group from the council I expect to get it or if not get a good reason why not. I can think of no reason why an emergency permit could not have been granted. This is petty bureaucracy at its worst. This is the worst kind of intransigence and red tape and it is the kind of behaviour which gives local government such a bad name,” concluded Cllr Martin.