Sheila McKenna raises Scotstown issues at Monaghan County Council

North Monaghan Sinn Féin Councillor Sheila McKenna raised a number of issues relating to the Scotstown area at the October meeting of Monaghan County Council.

In her questions to the council executive Sheila McKenna sought the up-to-date position with regard to the proposed extension of Scotstown sewerage scheme. In response to the query the council executive confirmed out that a topographical land survey had been carried out of all the houses and associated works which could connect to the scheme, and sites earmarked for two pumping stations. “However, due to financial constraints within the budget of Water Services, it is unlikely to proceed for some time”.

Footpath Request

Cllr. McKenna asked if the council would investigate the possibility of continuing the footpath from Gola Crest into Scotstown village, in the interest of safety fro residents and school-going children.

A reply confirmed that the possibility of carrying out this work, and an investigation of the associated costs, would be matters that would be discussed at the next Road Area meeting.

Rumble Strips

The Sinn Féin representative also requested the council to replace and renew the rumble strips from the Knockatallon road into Scotstown as a means of traffic calming. As a result of Cllr. McKenna’s representations the council executive have agreed to examine the possibility, including determining, the costs of the works, with a view to renewing the rumble strips.

Speaking afterwards Cllr. Sheila McKenna said that she would continue to raise these and other matters of concern to the people of Scotstown and the other issues brought to her attention by people throughout North Monaghan. She is determined to see positive results to each of these queries, she stated.

Ó Caoláin calls for O’Donoghue’s resignation

Sinn Féin Dáil Leader Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin TD has called on John O’Donoghue TD to resign as Ceann Comhairle, saying that his position has become untenable given his continued waste of public money since he took the chair of the Dáil.

Speaking after a meeting of Sinn Féin’s Oireachtas team in Leinster House this morning, Deputy Ó Caoláin said the Ceann Comhairle had embarked on a series of "lavish junkets" since he took office, bringing to the position of Ceann Comhairle "the same cavalier attitude to public money that became all-pervasive during the Celtic Tiger years at the highest levels in Government and in some State and semi-State bodies such as FÁS and that was in evidence during his term as Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism".

He went on to urge both Fine Gael and the Labour Party to support his call for John O’Donoghue’s resignation.

Deputy Ó Caoláin said:
"The position of John O'Donoghue TD as Ceann Comhairle has become untenable given his continued waste of public money since he took the chair of the Dáil.

"It is clear now that Deputy O'Donoghue embarked on a series of lavish junkets since taking up the office of Chair of the House.

"He brought to the position of Ceann Comhairle the same cavalier attitude to public money that became all-pervasive during the Celtic Tiger years at the highest levels in Government and in some State and semi-State bodies such as FÁS and that was in evidence during his term as Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism.

"We have to challenge a culture whereby a senior official of the State, such as Deputy O'Donoghue, can, for example, avail of £799 sterling of Irish taxpayers' money to hire a limousine to take him between terminals and a VIP lounge at Heathrow Aiport.

“Deputy O'Donoghue should resign immediately and, if he does not, a motion calling on him to resign should be tabled in the Dáil. I am calling on both Fine Gael and the Labour Party to support this position and to facilitate the moving of a motion calling for his resignation if the need arises” concluded the Sinn Féin Dáil leader.

Ó Caoláin accepts the people’s verdict and congratulates stoic Cavan Monaghan - highest ‘No’ vote across all 43 constituencies

“Sinn Féin acknowledges and accepts the people’s verdict on this occasion. Unlike this government we will not be calling for a further referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. However, we must remain vigilant as a people both of the European Union’s decision makers in the Commission and Council of Ministers and of our own elected representatives’ contributions and voting positions within the European Parliament.

“Brian Cowen and his Fianna Fáil and Green Party government should take no solace from the result of this Lisbon Treaty Referendum. They and their ‘Yes’ side supporters in Fine Gael and Labour now have to deliver. There is an onus, an obligation, on these ‘Yes’ parties to demonstrate that their arguments had substance – that there will be economic recovery and real jobs created as a consequence of its endorsement by a significant section of the Irish electorate.

“I, for one, do not believe a word of it. The only job that has been saved is Brian Cowen’s and just a couple of weeks back the European Commission approved a Polish government proposal to grant aid, to the tune of €54.5m, the relocation from Ireland of 1,900 jobs in the IT sector.

“There is something rotten at the core of this European project and Irish voices are not being heard” stated Deputy Ó Caoláin.

Cavan Monaghan – highest ‘No’

“I wish to congratulate the Sinn Féin organisation throughout Cavan and Monaghan for the heroic campaign they mounted over recent weeks.

“It was, with hindsight, a David and Goliath contest. The entire weight of the political, business and media establishment was pitted against the ‘No’ side. The ‘Yes Coalition’ spent an unprecedented amount of money, including public monies, in creating a climate of fear. They preyed on people’s concerns about their jobs and the future of the economy – problems which this government created.

“And so many stood firm.

“The Cavan Monaghan constituency recorded the highest ‘No’ vote of all 43 constituencies across the state. 21,301 voters throughout Cavan and Monaghan rejected the Lisbon Treaty for a second time. Co. Mayo, the home constituency of Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, came second with 21,132 and Co. Wexford took third place honours on the ‘No’ side with 21,067.

“While only the two Donegal constituencies recorded an overall ‘No’ majority, the people of Monaghan town and it’s added area, sixteen ballot boxes in total, also recorded a ‘No’ majority, as did the electors in Knocknagrave, in Knockatallon and in Tyholland.

“So too did the voters in Ballybay and in other polling areas across both counties, with neck and neck results in many others.

Referenda

“The Referendum process, as a distinct element of our democratic system, has been seriously damaged by this government. In the course of my campaigning over recent weeks I met dozens of people who had voted ‘No’ to Lisbon in 2008 and who were adamant they would not go out a second time. In their words – ‘Government will keep coming back until they get their way’ – while others said – ‘we don’t count’. Some, understandably, have lost heart with the referendum process if not with the democratic process in its entirety.

“The answer I received on Saturday when voicing this concern on RTE television was telling in itself. “There will be no more such referenda for many years” was the assertion of the ‘Yes’ proponents, something we on the ‘No’ side had warned about throughout the debate.

Campaign

“Looking back over these past several weeks I can state with confidence and with pride that we in Sinn Féin put up a fair and strong challenge to all the other political parties in the ‘Yes Coalition’. We stuck to the facts regarding the Lisbon Treaty and we addressed the real issues of concern to the Irish people.

“While this government and their ‘Yes Coalition’ partners, and their federalist friends in Europe, now have what they wanted, the fact remains that the economy has to be put right, that public services and workers’ rights, Irish neutrality and the interests of rural Ireland all have to be cherished, defended and nurtured now more than ever.

“Government moves to introduce NAMA and to adopt all or even many of the McCarthy Report (Bord Snip Nua) recommendations must be resisted. These are deeply unpopular proposals for which this government has no mandate.

“I challenge Brian Cowen, in the wake of his Lisbon II Referendum success, to put his proposals before the people, either in a further referendum or better still, in a General Election before Christmas. Let the people decide. Let the people have the chance to show you and your fellow travellers exactly where they stand” concluded the Sinn Féin Dáil Leader.