Transcript of the County Council Meeting Held on 4 April 2016 in the County Council Chamber, Wicklow
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WICKLOW COUNTY COUNCIL Transcript of the County Council Meeting Held on 4 April 2016 In the County Council Chamber, Wicklow Text streamed live to the web on www.seewritenow.ie Telephone ……………………………. (0404) 64355 Fax ……………….…………………... (0404) 64354 Email …………………………………. [email protected] Website ……………………………….. www.pcr.ie Wicklow County Council Meeting – 4 April 2016 1 1 Disclaimer: The following is the transcript of the realtime text transcribed during the meeting. 2 The realtime text service and subsequent transcript are for the purposes of accessibility to the 3 public meetings of the Wicklow County Council, and are not intended or portrayed as an official 4 verbatim note or minutes of the meetings. And while we take care to ensure the service is as 5 accurate as is possible, some errors may and do occur. 6 7 Wicklow County Council Meeting, Monday, 4th April 2016. 8 9 CATHAOIRLEACH: Members, apologies for the delayed start of the meeting. We will just 10 start with sympathies first please. 11 MS GALLAGHER: Cathaoirleach, today we remember the victims and families of the 12 Buncrana tragedy and the Brussels attacks. And also Sile Mulhall Tinahely, mother of Michael 13 Mulhall. Roisin Boland, sister of Michael Boland and Jackie McCluskey, father-in-law of David 14 Collard. 15 CATHAOIRLEACH: Cllr Blake. 16 Cllr BLAKE: Can I second that vote of sympathy to Sile Mulhall to Michael on behalf of the 17 group here. Sile was a very Trojan local community worker and Michael himself as well in 18 terms of the first responders, the main organiser of the first responders the area. So just to 19 second that sympathy. 20 CATHAOIRLEACH: Thank you. No other members, any sympathies? No, okay, let's stand. 21 22 (A minute's silence was held) 23 24 CATHAOIRLEACH: Okay, Cllr Thornhill. 25 Cllr THORNHILL: Cathaoirleach, thank you. I would be asking the Chamber for -- I wish to 26 propose a suspension of standing orders in relation to something that I would like to see brought 27 up later on in the meeting. 28 CATHAOIRLEACH: What is the nature of it? 29 Cllr THORNHILL: This is in relation to a proposal where I'll be asking the Council to write to 30 the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, re a programme that was on RTÉ subsequent to the 1916 31 celebrations. The programme in my mind was there was language and in-appropriate language 32 used in the programme and I think it should be given a little bit of thought, and I have a proposal 33 made out here and it's going to be seconded by - should I read out the motion? 34 CATHAOIRLEACH: No, I am just, it's open to the members now as to whether we suspend Premier Captioning & Realtime Ltd. www.pcr.ie Wicklow County Council Meeting – 4 April 2016 2 1 standing orders, we have a busy agenda, but do members feel they have enough information to 2 make a decision as to whether to suspend standing orders or do they want more information? 3 Cllr WINTERS: I have no idea why we are being asked to suspend standing orders. 4 CATHAOIRLEACH: Cllr Mitchell. 5 Cllr MITCHELL: I am concerned item 14, a submission about getting a community benefit for 6 supplying Dublin with water, I think we need to discuss this, we have had it on three agendas 7 and I certainly think it should be taken ahead of any suspension and it should definitely be taken 8 this week. The Government programme is being negotiated at the moment maybe. So I think 9 we need to have this in there. 10 CATHAOIRLEACH: Okay, Cllr Cullen. 11 Cllr Tommy CULLEN: I support Cllr Mitchell, it's something I have been arguing for since 12 1993 in this Council chamber, that Wicklow should get some benefit from the fact that Dublin, 13 or that Irish Water is now extracting somewhere in the region, I think the latest figures is €724 14 million worth of water. 15 CATHAOIRLEACH: Just in terms of the agenda... 16 Cllr Tommy CULLEN: I have done three reports for the Council over the past 20 years arguing 17 this point and I am glad Cllr Mitchell has come to my viewpoint... 18 CATHAOIRLEACH: Do you want to move that up the agenda, are you proposing that Cllr 19 Mitchell? 20 Cllr MITCHELL: I am -- yes I would like it up the agenda so we definitely get to it today. At 21 this time when a Programme For Government is or may be, or possibly negotiated with, we 22 should be lobbying ourselves to get this. 23 CATHAOIRLEACH: Okay. 24 Cllr Tommy CULLEN: I think Chairman, we have five Dáil deputies here from Wicklow 25 representing Wicklow here today... 26 CATHAOIRLEACH: We are going to get to that okay. 27 Cllr Tommy CULLEN: I just think it's important that the Dáil deputies are aware that the 28 amount of finance being extracted from Wicklow's two reservoirs of Poulaphouca and 29 Roundwood is now earning Irish Water €724 million a year and Wicklow... 30 CATHAOIRLEACH: Could I suggest there will be an opportunity to talk more about it, but 31 could I suggest it goes in at item number eight where we were going to discuss the National 32 Ports Policy and we move it up to that. Would members be in agreement with that? 33 Cllr Tommy CULLEN: Just to finish the point Chairman, we are paying Dublin... 34 CATHAOIRLEACH: Cllr Cullen, you will have your opportunity to talk to and make anything Premier Captioning & Realtime Ltd. www.pcr.ie Wicklow County Council Meeting – 4 April 2016 3 1 you want... 2 Cllr Tommy CULLEN: While the TDs are here... 3 CATHAOIRLEACH: Sorry, Councillor, Councillor! Sorry, Councillor, you don't seem to be 4 recognising the Chair! If you could, I would appreciate that. Cllr Annesley please. 5 Cllr ANNESLEY: I would like to second Cllr Thornhill's proposal. But unfortunately I don't 6 think the Council chamber members have actually seen this programme, and I am sure if Cllr 7 Winters had seen this, she would be outraged at this programme. So I think Cllr Thornhill, if we 8 put this at the next meeting and let people watch this programme, if you would like to tell them 9 the name of the programme. I did watch it with my wife and I was disgusted, I turned the 10 programme off. I am sorry Cllr Thornhill, I didn't watch it all, I tried to get it last night on the 11 player, but I just couldn't. I think if the Councillors could watch this, I don't think you will 12 stomach the whole programme, but I do definitely support your motion for writing to RTÉ 13 broadcasting. 14 CATHAOIRLEACH: Cllr Fox. 15 Cllr FOX: I would support Cllr Thornhill's suspension. I think the language used in the 16 programme was totally inappropriate. 17 CATHAOIRLEACH: To have it today? 18 Cllr FOX: To have it today. 19 CATHAOIRLEACH: Okay. Cllr Walsh. 20 Cllr WALSH: I would be inclined to support Cllr Annesley's suggestion there. I didn't see the 21 programme in question, I saw it advertised and I purposely didn't watch it, because I thought it 22 was in very poor taste considering the occasion we remembered... 23 CATHAOIRLEACH: Okay. John Snell. 24 Cllr SNELL: I would also support this. I have been talking to Cllr Thornhill about it. I did see 25 the programme and I think it was just out of - to say it was bad taste was an understatement. So I 26 think it probably should be heard today, because I am sure Cllr Thornhill could elaborate a little 27 bit on the content. 28 CATHAOIRLEACH: Okay Cllr Winters. 29 Cllr WINTERS: Thanks. As Cllr Annesley said I haven't seen the programme, I don't know 30 what programme you are talking about so I don't know whether I have seen it or not, I am just 31 saying I don't have enough information. What programme are we talking about? 32 CATHAOIRLEACH: Cllr Thornhill do you want to clarify what programme? 33 Cllr THORNHILL: I am delighted to do so. The name of the programme, Irish Pictorial 34 Weekly, and it would be similar to what used to be there years ago Hall's Pictorial Weekly, way Premier Captioning & Realtime Ltd. www.pcr.ie Wicklow County Council Meeting – 4 April 2016 4 1 more offensive and very distasteful. And I'll give evidence later -- 2 CATHAOIRLEACH: We won't get into it now, I just wanted you to clarify that. We will go to 3 Cllr Ruttle please. 4 Cllr RUTTLE: I would support the suspension today. 5 CATHAOIRLEACH: Cllr Lawless. 6 Cllr LAWLESS: I would be in the same mind as the other Councillors, I would like to support 7 Cllr Thornhill on this as well and get some more information on it. 8 CATHAOIRLEACH: At a quarter to five, suspension to discuss it, is that agreed? Agreed, 9 okay, great. Thanks members. Okay. So it seems like forever since we had the election. But 10 we still don't have a Government, but what we do have is five TDs from Wicklow, three returned 11 and two brand new. And I think it's nice to see the two coming from this Council Chamber too, 12 which is good to see. I would like to invite the five present TDs up to here please, and maybe if 13 they'd like to say a few words and address the Chamber, that would be great, please come on up.