Council meeting, Monday March 5th 2007
March 12th, 2007My last two posts here (this and this) covered clarifications of press reports. In this post, I’d like to acknowledge some fairly spot-on reporting from the local papers in Letterkenny. I’ve taken a long time in writing this post, as the issues are very serious.
Last Monday’s council meeting was the scene of a protest, organised either by or following a meeting of Letterkenny Community Residents Group, which contained some fairly serious allegations. There where placards alleging bribery, and various other levels of misconduct against all the council members, but in particular the Fianna Fail members.
The protest was relating to the ongoing issues regarding the new Letterkenny Leisure Centre. There where people there from a wide variety of groups, including the Community Residents Group and the Swilly Seals swimming club.
On Tuesday’s Shaun Doherty Show, one of the first callers in was Conor Boyce of the Swilly Seals, who was on air to distance the Swilly Seals from the content of these allegations and from the conduct of some of the protestors. I was the second caller, talking about the previous night’s events and welcoming the Swilly Seals’ comments.
Francis McCafferty, Secretary of the Community Residents Group, was the third caller and pointedly refused to disassociate either himself or the organisation from the same allegations. I asked him on a number of occasions, and each time he refused.
For me, this outlines an important issue. Groups such as the Swilly Seals have real concerns about their future when the new Leisure Centre opens, while other groups and individuals are abusing the situation for use in current and future electoral campaigns.
If this is an issue about the Leisure Centre(s), and just that, then the Community Residents Group should have no problem in disassociating themselves from serious allegations against Councillors. But their most vocal spokesperson has refused to do this. By standing over these allegations, the Group shows that their objections are not based on principle, but are being used as a way to attack and oppose the council.
Their are many non-political people within the Community Residents Group, who seek to use the group as a way to bring Residents Associations from across the Town together and to work on Community issues. They are more than entitled to do this. I know that the vast majority of members of the Community Residents Group do not support allegations like this being made against Councillors, and I thank all those members who have contacted me to say this.
As I have said to a number of members of the press this week, I don’t believe this issue should be allowed to be used for political and electoral gain by anybody. I still stand by my original position on this issue (as I wrote here)- if the Centre at the High Road can be run together with the new Centre, then I will support retaining that. Nobody has shown how that can happen.
I will continue to engage with groups such as the Swilly Seals, to work towards a solution to this matter, but I will not get involved with those who support wildly unfounded allegations against me and my fellow councillors as a way of raising profile for any party or individual, whether for the upcoming General Election or the next Local Elections in 2009. If any members of the Community Residents Group have any issues with which I can be of assistance, please get in touch with me directly.
As I said at the start, the local papers have covered this issue in a well balanced manner. The Donegal Democrat and Derry People (Donegal News) have not put their stories online, but you can read the report from the Letterkenny Post here.
To read my original thoughts on this matter, please click here