WORKS BOTH WAYS

Dear Editor,

I would like to take this opportunity to reply to a number of charges levelled at me in the Letters to the Editor in the November 19 issue of The Avondhu.

Firstly, it is still an immense source of pride that I received an overwhelming endorsement by the people of Fermoy in last June’s local elections. That my peers saw fit to appoint me Mayor of Fermoy was another proud moment in my short political career. I am only too aware of the responsibility levelled on my shoulders, and I do my best for the town and people of Fermoy on a daily basis.

The past 6 months has been a baptism of fire for me as a new councillor with many crucial meetings taking place, which I have chaired to the best of my ability. If I have made mistakes, I apologise, but I can assure the people of Fermoy that every one of my actions reflects my desire to do the best for my town.

I campaigned on a number of issues earlier this year. The facilitation of positive retail development in Fermoy was one issue, as was a reform of the internal town council politics that has long hindered the local authority in its efforts to serve Fermoy.

Many council meetings are held in committee, without the public present. This is a reality with any council across the country. I had found that the meetings on the Shipton Group’s proposals that had been held to date had been most productive, where all members of the council contributed fairly and constructively.

There are occasions in which meetings must be held in private but ultimately all decisions are taken in public and must be held up to public scrutiny. That is our clear democratic function.

Sometimes tensions arise within the chamber, but this is part of politics, and is not personal; all sides are passionate about doing what they see as best for the town.

In my brief experience in politics I find the lack of presence of the press at some developmental meetings lends, on occasion, to productive sessions, free of the sound bites and grandstanding that has hindered Fermoy Town Council meetings in the past.

That is not to say that free reporting of our regular meetings is unhelpful, indeed it is essential in any thriving democracy.

My aim is not to hinder the democratic process but to ensure that all voices are heard, regardless of their political affiliation. Mr Brady is absolutely correct in his assertion that the planning system is public. With that I am in complete agreement.

However, it is the responsibility of the town council to design a town development plan that will be put to the people for approval. Should the public disagree with the plan, we, as elected officials, must assess the feedback received from the people.

I have no desire to hinder development of retail in Fermoy, it is a need I campaigned on and will attest to. I also have no desire to muzzle the press.

Responsibility must lie with the press also, however, in terms of the balance of its reporting, I would ask that people read the front page article to which Mr Brady refers, and honestly assess its objectivity.

Responsibility works both ways in politics, both in what we politicians do and its objective coverage by the press, free of bias or motivation.

Is mise le meas
Cllr Noel McCarthy,
Fermoy

BLATANT POLITICAL SPIN

Dear Editor,

On Friday, November 20 on Morning Ireland, the junior minister with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, Dr Martin Mansergh TD, appeared under pressure to explain why the Fermoy Flood Relief Scheme has taken so long since its initial announcement in 2004 to finally start this autumn with a possible final finish date now (perhaps) sometime in 2014.

In attempting to answer the interviewer, Dr Mansergh made a statement, “it takes a while to achieve a sufficient degree of local consensus. There are often, sort of, other issues, weirs, boat clubs etc that have to be addressed.”

The implied suggestion from the minister seems to be that the campaign to save Fermoy’s historic weir has in some way slowed the implementation of the Flood Plan by the Office of Public Works.

Further, the implication seems to be that had it not been for the actions of members of Fermoy Rowing Club and others in their efforts to prevent the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources from carrying out their intentions to drastically alter Fermoy weir and to ruin a river scape which has existed since 1170, last week’s catastrophic flooding might have been somehow avoided.

Fermoy Rowing Club rejects this inference as the blatant political spin it is. Anyone who knows the river Blackwater will tell you that the weir does not affect flooding.

The Office of Public Works never considered the weir a component of Fermoy’s Flood Relief Plan until they reluctantly agreed to assist the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources as ‘an act of administrative convenience’. (The line was that it would be like two neighbours getting their drives paved and deciding to pool the costs.

The OPW man in charge was visibly thrown off guard by our questions about costings at a public meeting two years ago). We discovered, in our investigations, that planning permission would not be required to remove Fermoy Weir, even though it is a protected structure, if the work was carried out under the cover of flood relief.

Had the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources got away with their attempts to lump their proposed weir work in with the flood plan, the OPW would thus have had carte blanche to remove the weir and replace it with the department’s rock ramp pass.

If the weir caused any delay in the implementation of the flood plan then this was only because of the complications caused by the DCENR at the last minute trying to piggy-back their own schemes onto the flood plan. The current OPW work is only phase one of a three phase plan.

Phase one is costing €3.3 million, less than 10% of the overall plan, costed at €35 million and projected to last five years. As yet, funding for phases two and three has not been budgeted.

Fermoy Rowing Club sympathises deeply with our friends, neighbours and members who have suffered so badly as a result of last week’s flooding and we deplore this attempt by Minister Mansergh to pass the buck in such a shameless fashion.

This is the same man, when launching the flood plan in The Grand Hotel in September, whose most helpful advice to townspeople worried about the possibility of flooding during the construction of the flood relief scheme was that they should pray for fine weather.

Yours sincerely,
Donal O’Keeffe,
Hon Secretary Fermoy Rowing Club
Timmy (Rancher) White,
Mitchelstown.

JUMPING ON THE BANDWAGON

Dear Editor,

How typical to see Dermot Ahearn and Brian Cowan jumping on the populist bandwagon, claiming Thiery Henry robbed us.

Because he illegally handled something, He shouldn’t have.

They weren’t so quick to condemn the French when they were charging Charles J Haughey 600 pounds for a shirt, or indeed their fellow party members for illegally handling brown envelopes.

Their silence was deafening.

Yours Michael Nugent,
5 castle St,
Cahir,
Co Tipperary,