A Clarecastle councillor insists there’s “no apology to be given” for comments he made in relation to fellow councillors’ alleged conflicts of interest.
It follows a discussion at yesterday’s meeting of Ennis representatives, which centred on funding given by councillors to community and voluntary organisations.
A seemingly trivial matter snowballed into a war of words between councillors at this week’s Ennis Municipal District meeting, after Fianna Fáil Councillor Tom O’Callaghan suggested several members present should have withdrawn from a previous meeting due to undeclared conflicts of interest.
The comments were in relation to General Municipal Allocation funding which some councillors had given to organisations in which they are personally involved.
Each of the seven councillors in the Ennis area has this year been granted €49,000 in GMA funding which can be given to local charities, sports clubs, festivals or other organisations of their choosing.
Since 2014, almost €2.5 million has been doled out by Ennis’s elected representatives.
As per SIPO guidelines, all councillors must disclose all potential conflicts of interest and must withdraw from a meeting concerning the interest if it benefits them financially or otherwise.
Former Mayor of Ennis Ann Norton, who manages the Clare Crusaders Children’s Clinic in a voluntary capacity and has given GMA funding to the organisation in the past, took particular offence to the comments and demanded an apology from Councillor O’Callaghan.
The Barefield Independent councillor says she “can’t understand” why Councillor O’Callaghan felt the need to make the comments.
Ennis Municipal District Senior Engineer Sean Lenihan confirmed at the meeting that Councillor Norton doesn’t have an undeclared conflict of interest as she doesn’t benefit financially from her role at Clare Crusaders.
She received the support of Ennis Fine Gael Councillor Mary Howard who claimed that by Councillor O’Callaghan’s logic, all local representatives have conflicts of interest due to their active roles in their communities.
Councillor Howard says she feels that she and Councillor Norton have been unfairly “targetted” by their Clarecastle-based colleague.
All local representatives nationwide are required to comply with the Code of Conduct for Councillors under the Local Government Act 2001.
Councillor Tom O’Callaghan says his only goal in raising the issue of conflicts of interest was to ensure all councillors are in compliance with the law.
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