‘Bluebells and Buskers’: admittedly beautiful

July 2017 1 9

on all sides. The CEO of Kildare County Council Peter

Carey went so far as to describe the motion and subse-

quent discussion as “regrettable” and “embarrassing”.

Director of Services, Peter Minnock, issued a statement

in which he said he found the manner in which it had

been raised “disappointing” and that he had “no con

cerns regarding the impartiality, integrity and manner in

which the work has been performed by all persons

engaged in this process”. This statement came before

the Fianna Fáil councillor admitted on local radio that she

had not declared the conﬂict of interest in dealing with

the grant application made in her brother’s name. Local

commentators following the story overwhelmingly found

little substance to the conﬂict, as did politicians publicly

discussing it on social media, as all proceeds went into

the redevelopment of a local community centre.

It matters little. Village ventures that the disappoint

ing behaviour and the regret and embarrassment will all

redound against the Council in the end.

Former Fianna Fáil Councillor O’Loughlin failed to dis

close the nature of her interest, or the fact of a connected

person’s interest at the relevant meeting, and before dis-

cussion or consideration of the matter commences, and

failed to withdraw from the meeting. She therefore

breached respectively section 177 (1) (i) and section 177

(1) (ii) of the Local Government Act 2001.

Speaking about the incident, Fianna Fáil’s Fiona

O’Loughlin told Village Magazine in November 2016:

“The ‘allegations’ were completely unfounded and

addressed by both the ofﬁcials of KCC and the now chair,

Councillor Padraig McEvoy. I was not part of the adjudi-

cation of the awards. A grant was not paid to myself or

my brother. A grant of €600 (one of many around the

county) was paid to the bank account of Rathangan Com-

munity Association in order to part pay for a publication

about William A Byrne, a Rathangan poet who took

Thomas McDonagh’s place in UCD after McDonagh’s exe-

cution. A local cultural community group called ‘Bluebells

and Buskers’ which organises Community events and

fundraises for the local Community Centre made the

application. My brother, a locally civic and community-

minded volunteer, happens to chair the group”.

Unfortunately it is indubitably the case that former

Councillor, Fianna Fáil’s O’Loughlin, and her committee

had had sign-off on the grant which was for an event inti-

mately linked to her family.

Former Councillor O’Loughlin may think it is happen

stance that her brother chairs the group but the law

appears to treat it as a substantive problem.

The County Council was obliged to investigate Council

McLoughlin Healy’s complaint but felt it was trivial:

“The complainant can make the case for an interpre

tation which leaves little room for discretion on what

must be declared. The complainant can further make the

case as provided for in the code of conduct that if there

is any doubt a declaration should be made. The respond-

ent can equally make the case that the interest concerned

here is of an insigniﬁcant nature and that no declaration

is necessary. The circumstances surrounding the mat-

ters of public interest arising in this particular case do

not appear to be extensive in nature and do not appear

to convey any appreciable beneﬁt, ﬁnancial or other-

wise, on the people concerned.

Having completed the desktop review and having

regard to all the considerations outlined in this report,

including the legal considerations set out above I have

not come to the conclusion that former Councillor

O’Loughlin (now a Fianna Fáil TD) was in breach of ethi-

cal legislation as set out in Part 15 of the Local

Government Act 2001. I say this based on the documen-

tation I have reviewed and by applying the test of

whether a member of the public knowing the facts would

LOCAL gOvERNMENT ACT, 2001

“Disclosure by member of local authority of pecuniary

or other beneﬁcial interests.

177.—(1) Where at a meeting of a local authority or of

any committee, joint committee or joint body of a local

authority… a matter is proposed or otherwise arises…

then, a member of the authority, committee, joint com-

mittee or joint body present at such meeting shall,

where he or she has actual knowledge that he or she

or a connected person has a pecuniary or other beneﬁ

cial interest in, or which is material to, the matter—

(i) disclose the nature of his or her interest, or the fact

of a connected person’s interest at the meeting, and

before discussion or consideration of the matter

commences, and

(ii) withdraw from the meeting for so long as the matter

is being discussed or considered

It tells an extraordinary tale

that Council ofﬁcials would

not consider €600 signiﬁcant

or extensive in nature or such

as to convey any appreciable

beneﬁt.

‘Bluebells and Buskers’: admittedly beautiful