Clare councillors cry foul over mayoral ‘slight’

Tuesday, 06 January 2009

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Andrew Hamilton

Mayor of Clare Madeleine-Taylor Quinn (FG) who was not invited to last Friday’s announcement of US pre-clearance facilities at Shannon Airport.

MAYOR of Clare, Madeleine Taylor-Quinn (FG) was not invited to last Friday’s announcement of US pre-clearance facilities at Shannon Airport, it was revealed yesterday.
In what was described as a “severe slight”, the Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey met with a number of Fianna Fáil councillors during his visit to the airport but no opposition councillors, including the Mayor Taylor-Quinn, were invited.
Indeed Cllr Taylor-Quinn only heard of the Shannon event during an informal conversation with the minister at the sod turning ceremony for the N18 Gort Crusheen Bypass on Friday morning.
“I would see this as a severe slight to both the Mayor of Clare and the Mayor of Shannon town,” said Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind), who led the campaign to save the Shannon Heathrow connection.
“I welcome Councillor McMahon’s meeting with the minister but I have never heard of such a select group of people getting together for a meeting. I certainly was not invited to the announcement and I know that the mayor were not invited to the meeting either.
“If this slight was of the ministers doing or if it was brought about by the management of Shannon Airport then shame on them - we have all supported them whole heatedly during what as been a very difficult time for the airport.
Commenting on that motion, Cllr Hanrahan (FF) said that no special treatment was shown to Fianna Fáil councillors.
“Invitations were not issued to anybody. Local councillors were invited to meet the minister but no indications were given that there was a major announcement on the horizon,” he said.
Shannon mayor Cllr Gerry Flynn (FG) told the council that he was given 45 minutes notice about the announcement and was unable to attend because he was “doing real work for his constituents in the offices of Clare County Council in Ennis”.
“I’m delighted that Minister Dempsey showed that he still knows where Shannon Airport is at all and that the airport was still up and running by the time that he got there,” he said.
“As mayor of Shannon I did get an invitation to the announcement on Friday, I got about 45 minutes notice in fact.”
Cllr Joe Arkins (FG) call for a protocol to be put in place to govern the visits of Government ministers.

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