Five motions tabled by People Before Profit Cllr. Dave O'Keeffe and Cllr Melisa Halpin on Proposed Variation No. 1 to the County Development Plan were ruled out of order at last night's meeting of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council — the latest in a consistent pattern of rulings that are preventing opposition Members from putting forward proposals the Executive does not agree with.
The motions sought to amend the text of the Variation and to direct the Chief Executive on matters that fall squarely within the elected Council's reserved functions under the Local Government Act 2001. Every one of them was ruled out before Members could debate or vote.
"This is an affront to democracy," said Cllr. O'Keeffe. "Varying a development plan is a reserved function. It belongs to the elected Members, not to the Executive and not to the Chair. When opposition motions are consistently struck down before they can even be discussed, our community is being denied the representation they voted for."
"We are seeing a pattern. Motions that challenge the Government line are ruled out. Motions that go along with it are heard. That is not how a democratic Chamber is supposed to work."
Cllr. O'Keeffe has lodged a formal complaint with the Meetings Administrator, citing Schedule 14A Reference No. 69 and Sections 131 and 132 of the Local Government Act 2001, and has requested that the Law Agent's advice be circulated to all Members before any final vote on the Variation.
"The people of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown elected a diverse Council for a reason. They deserve to have their representatives heard, not gavelled into silence."