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You are > Home > Ban all church gate collections – Durcan
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Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Ban all church gate collections – Durcan
BY KEITH BOURKE
A MAYO county councillor is seeking to ban charities and other organisations from collecting money within 100 metres of a church.
Independent county and Castlebar town councillor Frank Durcan is seeking support from fellow members of Castlebar Town Council for the implementation of a by-law to prohibit collections near church properties. He has lodged the motion at this week’s meeting of the town council and will also bring it to the meeting of Mayo Co Council in September.
Cllr Durcan says he is “very hopeful” that his colleagues on both councils will support his motion. He claims organisations collecting money are operating too close to church doors on Mass days and are “intimidating” and “pressurising” the faithful. Collections by political parties at the church gate have previously come under fire but Cllr Durcan says a “blanket ban” is the only solution, with no organisation exempt.
The Castlebar-based auctioneer said that if his motion is passed the ban could be put in place in a matter of months. He said he expects Thursday’s debate on the issue to be “very interesting”.
However, Cllr Durcan’s motion is unlikely to receive the backing of fellow county councillor, Joe Mellett, who is Fine Gael party whip on Mayo Co Council. Cllr Mellett agrees that political collections should be banned from outside churches but says that it would be damaging to local charities if they were restricted.
“It’s my personal opinion that political collections should not be held anywhere near a church,” Cllr Mellett said.
“Certain charity organisations are dependent on church gate collections. At the end of the day it’s a matter of personal choice whether you give money or not. There are a lot of good causes that the church has to be the focal point for in order for them to survive,” the Swinford councillor added.
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