To whom it may concern,
Re: Transparency, and the accountability which arises from transparency, in Local Government
We refer to the attendance of our representative, Mr Mark Fitzsimons, at the January meeting of Dundalk Town Council as an observer and wish to express our appreciation to the council for permitting his attendance.
Our principal reason for sending an observer to the meeting was to witness the conduct of the public’s affairs/finances by the Council. We had also raised concerns regarding a number of ethical issues with a Member of the Council, Councillor Morgan, but to which he had been unable to supply answers.
Our observer was shocked, as were we when he reported back to us, that Councillor Morgan’s questions were not only unanswered, but had not even been placed on the official agenda.
We attach a copy of Councillor Morgan’s request for answers to the questions and would appreciate an explanation for the Management’s failure/refusal to answer them, together with detailed written answers to the three questions, which go to the heart of transparency and accountability in local government, at your earliest possible convenience.
Other questions now arise as to the conduct of the meeting by the Chair and the Management, which created unsatisfactory outcomes to several issues, such as the legal/liability/right to rear access issue in respect of the St. Nicholas Avenue houses which back onto the Council’s wasteland at the Boyle O’Reilly Terrace waste water pumping plant; the unsatisfactory protection of the “protected” structure and the public footpath at the junction of Bridge Street and Maxwell’s Row; the “fly-tipping-honey pot” earthen mound and the Council access laneway to the river, both at the junction of St Nicholas Avenue and Maxwell’s Row and both of which are encouraging fly-tipping; the stubborn refusal by Management to take onboard Councillor Herr’s reservations concerning Roughan O’Donovan’s smart travel proposals and the Management’s resistance to the provision of public allotments, among others.
We will be making further submissions of requests for clarification around these latter issues later, but for now we would reiterate our requirement for the answers to the questions posed for us by Councillor Morgan at your very earliest possible convenience.
Yours Sincerely
Finbar Markey, Mark Fitzsimons
(People Before Profit Dundalk facilitators)
CC: Frank Pentony, Town Clerk
Catherine Duff, Town Engineer
David Storey, Director of Services