Tom Costello - Galway City Mayor

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Written by Administrator

Wednesday, 11 July 2007

New Galway City Mayor Tom Costello has been involved in politics for 16 years. The Castlegar man began his career as a bus conductor with Bus Éireann and after a long wait has been appointed Mayor of Galway City.

"I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Bus Éireann. I worked my way up, spending time in all of the positions there, from long-distance and city, to tours, and over the years I made a lot of good friends and acquaintances," he says.

It was while working with trade unions in Bus Éireann that Mayor Costello became involved in trade unions and decided to go down the path of politics. He says he wanted to become a councillor to be a reliable representative for the people of Galway and to try to bring about change.

"I was involved in trade unions while in Bus Éireann and then was the chairman of the Galway Council of Trade Unions for two consecutive terms from 1988. After that, I felt that the next step in the transition would be politics. I wanted to represent people in general and thought that they deserved a return on the services they should expect on the basis of the input of their taxation. I wanted to work with the people, and be someone that they could depend on and would deliver their mandates. I wanted to bring about change," says the Labour Mayor.

Mayor Costello was delighted to receive the title of mayor, saying that although it was a long wait, it was worth it in the end.

"I think most fair-minded people would say that I have served my apprenticeship. I'm not the longest waiting to be mayor. Jim Kemmy in Limerick would have been someone that I looked up to when getting into politics and he had to wait 18 years! That's life!" he says.

During his term of office, Mayor Costello hopes to address the issue of the water crisis, the backlog of up to 3,000 people on the housing list, the situation at Southpark and the revamp of Ceannt Station. He also hopes to work on some 'pet issues' such as neighbourhood play areas for children and the upkeep of rental houses in Galway.

"There are a lot of rental properties in Galway that are in simply terrible condition. There is a level of upkeep that everyone should adhere to but some landlords don't cut the lawn or clean up litter and ruin estates for permanent residents. They want the rewards but are not prepared to put in the work. I hope to work with the wardens and possibly appoint new wardens to sort out this problem. It could come under the Dilapidated Sites Acts and I would not hesitate to invoke that if necessary," he says.

In his spare time, Mayor Costello describes himself as a "fanatical sports enthusiast" and names soccer and Gaelic football as his favourite sports. He also likes to watch sport on television whenever possible and enjoys walking on the prom to relax.

When asked about his views on his predecessor Niall O Brolchain's reign, Mayor Costello says that he believes he did the job to the best of his ability without "fear or favour", and that the people of the city are very appreciative of the time he spent in office.

It is well known that the position of mayor is very demanding and time consuming, but Mayor Costello says that his family were not apprehensive about him taking on the job.

He says that he looks forward to the challenge of the position of mayor of Galway city and feels it is a "singular honour" for himself and his family to represent the city he loves.

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