WEST Cork Municipal District’s power sharing agreement came under scrutiny after a Social Democrat councillor and an Independent Ireland councillor raised a couple of questions at the AGM.
It appeared as if the transition would be seamless as Fianna Fáil’s Cllr Joe Carroll proposed Fine Gael’s Cllr Caroline Cronin to take the seat vacated by the outgoing chairperson Patrick Gerard Murphy (FF).
Cllr Deirdre Kelly (FF) seconded Cllr Cronin and, at first, there appeared to be no other contenders.
It was only after Cllr Joe Carroll proposed the outgoing chairperson, Cllr Patrick Gerard Murphy (FF), to become the new vice-chairperson, and this was seconded by the new chair, Cllr Caroline Cronin, that things took a turn.
Cllr Isobel Towse (SD) who acknowledged that she might not get a seconder, decided to put herself forward so there would ‘at least be another option’.
She did not get a seconder and Cllr Carroll explained to her how the power sharing pact works, saying: ‘Two factions come together to make an agreement for five years.’
In this instance, he said the three Fianna Fáil councillors made a pact with ‘the two outgoing councillors’ Fine Gael’s Cllr Cronin and Independent Ireland’s Cllr Danny Collins.
And, he added, ‘no other pact was made’.
Cllr Daniel Sexton of Independent Ireland told the meeting he wouldn’t mind being considered for the position of vice-chairperson, but he didn’t get a seconder either.
It is understood that the position of chairperson comes with an additional annual allowance of €5,000, but the role of vice-chair offers no additional remuneration.
After the meeting, Cllr Towse issued a statement saying: ‘The pact system for selecting chairpersons and vice-chairs at Municipal District level is unfair and unequal.
‘In the West Cork Municipal District, if the pact is adhered to over the five-year term there will be just five councillors taking 10 positions. These councillors will get multiple turns of chair and deputy chair, excluding nearly half the councillors from these positions.
‘I think these roles should be spread among all councillors, so that the chair represents the views of all constituents evenly. I know it is just politics, but I’m here for change, not more of the same.
‘It doesn’t have to be this way,’ she suggested, ‘other municipal districts operate more fairly with rotating chairs and vice-chairs.’
