A Kildare councilor’s decision to obtain detailed information on property appraisals carried out on behalf of Kildare County Council failed due to lack of support. Cllr Fiona McLoughlin Healy wanted a breakdown of evaluations, carried out independently by experts, including the number, cost of each and the agency contracted.

The advisor also wanted to know why an electronic copy of all assessments was not kept for easy access by auditors and for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act (FOI).

Cllr McLoughlin Healy said € 295,000 was spent in 2019, € 251,000 in 2018 and € 175,000 in 2017.

She said some reviewers were selected from outdated or obsolete frameworks and advisers have a right to information.

“We have a monitoring function,” she said at a KCC meeting.

However, Cllr Suzanne Doyle questioned the purpose of the motion if there is no concern about it.

KCC official Annette Aspell said providing the information could potentially be “voluminous” and could cause substantial and unreasonable interference or disruption of work patterns.

Ms Aspell pointed out that two freedom of information requests had been granted in this case last December and February.

But publication of individual assessments has been denied under the law due to the difficulty associated with the request and the time required to respond.

Ms Aspell said if the majority of councilors agreed with the request, she would respond, but only four councilors backed Cllr McLoughlin Healy. who said council should have provided the information rather than asking councilors to vote on it.