Political drama at first meeting
FG TRY TO PREVENT HIGGINS FROM SITTING
Newly elected Mayor of Fingal Cllr Ciaran Byrne handing the Deputy Mayor chain of office to Cllr. Tom Kelleher.
Wednesday June 24 2009
HIGH political drama and a tense atmosphere marked the beginning of the new council as senior Fine Gael councillors attempted to block Socialist Party leader, Joe Higgins from taking his seat. The AGM of Fingal County Council descended into near chaos almost as soon as it begun as Cllr Anne Devitt (FG), and her Fine Gael colleagues, tried to prevent Cllr Higgins from taking the seat he had won in the Castleknock ward.
Fingal's highest profile new councillor has also been elected to the European Parliament and Fine Gael argued that his taking a council seat amounted to the operation of the now banned 'dual-mandate'.
Following the official reading into the record of the election results, Cllr Devitt made a dramatic interjection claiming that Cllr Higgins had a dual mandate and saying: 'Why is Cllr Joe Higgins still present in this chamber when he knows it his intention to take up a seat in the European Parliament. I would not expect that from 'honest' Joe Higgins.'
Senior Executive Officer in the council's Corporate Affairs Department, Liam McGlynn, said the council had sought legal advice on the issue and senior counsel had advised that Cllr Higgins did not become an MEP until the first sitting of the European Parliament on July 14th and was therefore entitled to sit at the AGM and at the upcoming July council meeting. Cllr Devitt argued strongly that Cllr Higgins had already been 'deemed elected' to the European Parliament and she was backed by Cllr Joan Maher (FG) who said she was 'absolutely astonished' that Cllr Higgins was in the chamber. When Cllr Higgins eventually rose to his feet to speak, he accused the two senior Fine Gael councillors of 'suffering from an excess of bile' and said that they 'should have taken their Milk of Magnesia' before attending the meeting.
The jibe caused uproar in the chamber, leaving the newly-elected Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Ciaran Byrne (Lab), with the job of restoring order.
Cllr Higgins said that the people of his ward 'would be very disappointed indeed to learn that Fine Gael want to deny them representation in Fingal County Council on this important occasion'.
- John MANNING
