Prison term welcomed by political colleagues

REACTION:YESTERDAY'S HANDING down of a six-year jail term to former Dungarvan town councillor Fred Forsey was welcomed by politicians in his native Waterford as an important signal that political corruption will not be tolerated at any level within the political system.

Independent Waterford TD John Halligan said he had personal sympathy for Forsey’s family, as he was a father of three children, but he believed the six-year sentence with two years suspended handed down by Judge Gerard Griffin was appropriate given Forsey’s offence.

“I do think it’s appropriate – we have reached a state in Ireland today where we cannot have politicians being corruptible where they can be bought off by developers. It will send a lesson, a hard lesson, to all politicians, myself included ” he said.

Mr Halligan said he believed it was long overdue, after decades of various tribunals, that a price had to be paid for political corruption and the fact that Forsey was a town councillor rather than a higher-profile politician was immaterial as the principle was the same.

He said the issue of rezoning had affected the lives of so many people in Irish society and, while he was anxious not to be seen to be gloating or kicking someone when they were down, he hoped yesterday’s sentence would lead to change in the political culture.

A lot of people tended to view all politicians as being the same, and he didn’t believe that was the case, but it was important that when political wrongdoing was uncovered, those responsible should pay a penalty.

Mr Halligan’s views were echoed by Fine Gael councillor Ann-Marie Power, a member of Waterford County Council from Tramore who voted against the controversial rezoning of lands at Dungarvan at the centre of the corruption charges against Forsey.

Ms Power said she had sympathy for Forsey’s family but believed the judge had done the State some service not just with the sentence he imposed but also with his comments about the nature of political corruption.

“When he spoke about political corruption being corrosive, that really struck a chord with me,” she said.

Ms Power, who gave evidence for the prosecution on how Forsey lobbied her to vote for the land rezoning, said the case indicated the State was determined to root out corruption at all levels of Irish politics and that was a welcome development.

Local Fine Gael TD John Deasy, who also testified for the prosecution about how Forsey’s wife, Jenny, contacted him and how he in turn arranged a meeting between her and local Garda Supt Tom O’Grady, was reluctant to comment on yesterday’s sentence.

In May 2008, members of Waterford County Council voted by 13 votes to eight to allow the rezoning despite the fact the land was already the subject of a Garda investigation but this decision was later overturned by then minister for the environment John Gormley.