Councillors resign from committee chairs

The chairs of all six strategic policy committees on the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council resigned their positions after the Minister for the Environment wrote to the council about the appointments, the council’s meeting heard last night.

Councillors John Bailey, Barry Ward, Neale Richmond, Maria Bailey (all FG), Cormac Devlin and Gerry Horkan (both FF) were elected chairs-designate of the committees as part of a June pact between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

The committees deal with planning, environment, housing, transportation, community and economic development. They are chaired by councillors with members made up of sectoral representatives, among them the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the Irish Farmers Association and business groups.

Each chair is paid up to €6,000 annually and also sits on the corporate policy group, a forum where policy decisions affecting the entire council can be agreed for recommendation to the full council. Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly wrote to Richard Humphreys (Lab) stating that a circular on chairs of the committees, sent at the end of May, should be adhered to. It states the spread of chairs must "reflect the political representational spread on the full council".

Mr Kelly’s letter came following complaints made to him by councillors.

Last night, councillors John Bailey, Barry Ward, Cormac Devlin and Gerry Horkan were re-elected to the chairs, along with councillors Carrie Smyth (Lab) and Shane O’Brien (SF).

Councillors also agreed to put a draft scheme on the committees to public consultation. This provides a framework for the committees, including filling the positions for sectoral representatives.

Michael Merrigan (Ind) queried why the scheme included two positions for farmers. “According to the census, there are only 63 working farmers in the county. Do we have to have two spaces for such a small group?”

Councillor Lettie McCarthy (Lab) defended positions for farmers, saying their contribution included allowing access to their lands for the Wicklow Way.

The scheme will be released for public consultation shortly.