CLLR Richard Boyd Barrett (People Before Profit) has hit back after a scathing attack by a fellow Dún Laoghaire Rathdown councillor, who claimed that a recent protest he organised outside council offices in Dun Laoghaire was nothing more than a “cheap publicity stunt”.
Last Monday week (October 16) Cllr Boyd Barrett organised a public protest outside the county council offices on Marine Road while the council was in session.
The protest was staged in opposition to the recent demolition of structures by the Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company on the Carlisle Pier.
Cllr Mary Mitchell O’Connor (FG), who was present in the council chamber during the meeting, described the protest organised by Cllr Boyd Barrett as a “cheap stunt”.
“Cllr Boyd Barrett is now an elected member of the county council and he should be doing his work within the council to which he was elected,” she said.
“Instead of using his position to influence policy in a proper, constructive manner, he prefers to do his talking outside the chamber.”
During the meeting, Cllr O’Connor criticised Cllr Boyd Barrett for his failure to raise his grievances in the council chamber.
“I find it distasteful that a councillor would sponsor a protest purely for publicity effect and yet not raise the matter at the heart of the protest within the council chamber itself,” she added. “I believe that resolution of the matter would be better served by Cllr Boyd Barrett listing it as an agenda item for discussion within the chamber.”
However, Cllr Boyd Barrett said Cllr O’Connor did not appreciate that the right to protest was a fundamental aspect of the democratic process.
“Cllr O’Connor obviously does not understand that protest is part of the democratic process,” he said. “People power is in fact the most effective way to force the council to listen to what the people have to say on issues that concern them.
“So I make no apology whatsoever for supplementing my work in the council with mobilising the public on issues that are of concern to them.”
He claimed that due to a backlog, new motions tabled by councillors often take months before they are dealt with in the council chamber.
“There is a huge queue as regards motions in the council, which means that some could have been put down as long ago as July and have still not come up.
“If you were to wait for motions to come up that we tabled about the Carlisle Pier, they wouldn’t be discussed by the council until after Christmas.”
He added: “In that context it is absolutely justified and right for the public to express its opinion on important issues like the Carlisle Pier.”
(Article from http://www.dublinpeople.com)