Fianna Fáil councillor living in Australia to resign this month

jordata

A Fianna Fáil councillor who has been representing his Wexford constituency while living in Sydney has told the Irish Echo he will resign this month.
Kevin Dwyer, an elected member of New Ross town council, emigrated to Australia in September 2011 but continued to retain his seat.
According to council rules, councillors are permitted to miss six months of meetings, and can then apply for an extension of leave.
His extension was approved in March, and was backdated to September 2011.
With the extension period due to lapse on September 21, Mr Dwyer said he will not be applying for another extension, and he will be resigning.

See the full story here:-
http://www.irishecho.com.au/2012/09/06/sydney-based-wexford-council-member-vows-to-resign/20410

But he has just denied it on SouthEast Radio - and may come back!!

Who is going to the airport to welcome him home - not me!!

vicwatson

Disgraceful how its allowed happen, he is simply trying to keep his options open, nice if we could all do that.

Thought I read about this on Wexford Boards before too

Conas

vicwatson wrote: »

Disgraceful how its allowed happen, he is simply trying to keep his options open, nice if we could all do that.

Thought I read about this on Wexford Boards before too

But the councillors don't get salaries though do they? I thought they only get travel allowance.

Cantona's Collars

Conas wrote: »

But the councillors don't get salaries though do they? I thought they only get travel allowance.

That'd be a hefty travel allowance to Australia:eek:

vicwatson

Conas wrote: »

But the councillors don't get salaries though do they? I thought they only get travel allowance.

Irrelevant. point is he can't do constitunency work from Australia. he should resign his seat to let someone else on the council that might be able to help.

Ryan T

They do get a salary - introduced by the 'wonderful' Noel Dempsey (FF) a number if years ago.

Cantona's Collars

vicwatson wrote: »

Irrelevant. point is he can't do constitunency work from Australia. he should resign his seat to let someone else on the council that might be able to help.

They get paid for attending meetings but I bet there's some way that he's getting paid for this while he's 'on leave'.

bmaxi

Jesus, I knew FF crookery was widespread but Australia :eek::eek::eek:
The longer I live the more I realise Ireland needs to take a France 1789 style approach to it's rulers. Booting out one crowd of gangsters and replacing them with another is not the solution.

Conas

I wouldn't overreact over this, because we don't know the whole story.

Ledger

I know Kevin well, his partner is my cousin.

I was talking to him and he says they are not coming back any time soon, so I would think he is giving the seat up.

By the way, yes, before everyone jumps on the bandwagon to scathe him, everyone does not know the whole story. They wanted to see if the kids would settle ok before any important decisions about staying over there were made.

I think that is fair enough no?

bmaxi

Ledger wrote: »

I know Kevin well, his partner is my cousin.

I was talking to him and he says they are not coming back any time soon, so I would think he is giving the seat up.

By the way, yes, before everyone jumps on the bandwagon to scathe him, everyone does not know the whole story. They wanted to see if the kids would settle ok before any important decisions about staying over there were made.

I think that is fair enough no?

If he's taking a salary from the Irish taxpayer then no, it's not fair enough.

Ledger

bmaxi wrote: »

If he's taking a salary from the Irish taxpayer then no, it's not fair enough.

I know it may seem that I am biased, but if it was any other councillor I would have the same opinion and support for them.

While I agree that the issue of his small salary is a difficult one, if you were in the same situation of struggling week to week with two young kids, what would you do?

Conas

There was a small article about this in 'The Sun' today. :eek:

allthedoyles

Conas wrote: »

There was a small article about this in 'The Sun' today. :eek:

And watch it make the front pages of local rags next week .

All politicians love publicity , whether that publicity is good , bad , or indifferent.

His Council chair has been empty for the last 12 months , and he should have had the decency to offer it to another local .
But instead he left his job and continued to reap the benefits .

His day was always going to come around , and he is only setting himself up for a run at the next general election.

bmaxi

Ledger wrote: »

I know it may seem that I am biased, but if it was any other councillor I would have the same opinion and support for them.

While I agree that the issue of his small salary is a difficult one, if you were in the same situation of struggling week to week with two young kids, what would you do?

Along with about half a million others. There are too many cosy little arrangements in the Civil and Public service that allow people paid from the public purse to swan off for months on end on full pay while wheelchair bound citizens have to camp outdoors overnight for a fair crack of the whip.

RobbingBandit

bmaxi wrote: »

Jesus, I knew FF crookery was widespread but Australia :eek::eek::eek:
The longer I live the more I realise Ireland needs to take a France 1789 style approach to it's rulers. Booting out one crowd of gangsters and replacing them with another is not the solution.

I for one would love to see a reign of terror round these parts, but can we castrate the bankers and TDs instead of chopping off their heads.

Cantona's Collars

Couldn't imagine anybody in the private sector emmigrating then drawing down a salary from Ireland while working in another job abroad.

Conas

He'll never be able to run for anything after this. Our elected official's have disgraced our county. Wallace and Yates are a joke too!!! I voted for Wallace, and now I'm furious that I didn't vote for Sean Connick.

bmaxi

RobbingBandit wrote: »

I for one would love to see a reign of terror round these parts, but can we castrate the bankers and TDs instead of chopping off their heads.

I'm intrigued, how would you go about castrating Lucinda Creighton?
( I was going to say Joan Burton but on reflection, she could actually have a pair )

vicwatson

Conas wrote: »

There was a small article about this in 'The Sun' today. :eek:

Not the electorates problem, we aren't a charity FFS

bruschi

Ledger wrote: »

I know it may seem that I am biased, but if it was any other councillor I would have the same opinion and support for them.

While I agree that the issue of his small salary is a difficult one, if you were in the same situation of struggling week to week with two young kids, what would you do?

so you honestly think its ok to leave for another country to get work, but keep taking money from the country you left and not fulfill the duties for which you are being paid, when there are plenty of people available to make representation on the council?

I cant see any justification for it at all. Just because he has a family it makes it ok to milk as much money out of it as he can?

I might go into my boss there and see would he go along with a plan like that.

Here, boss, I'm emigrating to Australia. But will you keep paying me anyway, even though I wont do any work for you, because I might come back in a year or 2. Sure I know there are people there to take my place and do that work, but you may as well keep paying me and hold onto a place for me in case I change my mind and come home. I think its a fair deal.

Conas

bruschi wrote: »

so you honestly think its ok to leave for another country to get work, but keep taking money from the country you left and not fulfill the duties for which you are being paid, when there are plenty of people available to make representation on the council?

I cant see any justification for it at all. Just because he has a family it makes it ok to milk as much money out of it as he can?

I might go into my boss there and see would he go along with a plan like that.

Here, boss, I'm emigrating to Australia. But will you keep paying me anyway, even though I wont do any work for you, because I might come back in a year or 2. Sure I know there are people there to take my place and do that work, but you may as well keep paying me and hold onto a place for me in case I change my mind and come home. I think its a fair deal.

It kinda like the foreign nationals that come over here and claim social welfare only to send it back over to their families. There are massive loop holes in the system right across the board that needs to be plugged. But it wont, it'll go unpunished. By right he should be made pay back everything he was paid.

bmaxi

If further proof were needed of the contempt in which our political masters hold the public at large, it has to be the "leader's" allowance doled out to Mick Wallace in the last few day,. talk about adding insult to injury. What exactly is Wallace the leader of? Is there a thieves and tax evaders party in the Dail now? Do they have a manifesto of promoting swindling of the taxpayer. It would make you cry, the fact that a man who stole 2.5 million of the taxpayers' money is to be handed 41,000 euro a year, tax free and unvouched, to do as he wishes with. It puts the subject of this thread in the shade.

Tzar Chasm

Jaysus, Mick seems to be have 'stolen' more and more vat each week, 2.5 million now, the actual figure is more around the 1.4 mark

bmaxi

Tzar Chasm wrote: »

Jaysus, Mick seems to be have 'stolen' more and more vat each week, 2.5 million now, the actual figure is more around the 1.4 mark

Is that all? Oh well, that's all right then.

Cantona's Collars

Here's how much some of our L.A bigwigs are earning:eek:

County manager (Eddie Breen): €142,469
3 directors of services: €102,787 to €106,900
Head of finance: €94,565
County veterinary officer: €94,392
2 senior engineers: €87,117
Chief fire officer: €84,500
Senior engineer: €84,500
* What the top 10 earn: €991,247

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/organisations-are-top-heavy-with-high-earners-189877.html

books4sale

Ye seem to awash with the stink of corruption down there in Wexford. What's the flaming story?

Y'all want to get the house in order double quick.

It makes me feel like starting a thread, is Wexford the most corrupt county in Ireland?

vicwatson

books4sale wrote: »

Ye seem to awash with the stink of corruption down there in Wexford. What's the flaming story?

Y'all want to get the house in order double quick.

It makes me feel like starting a thread, is Wexford the most corrupt county in Ireland?

Im sure if you bothered to look you'd find that almost every county in Ireland could be classed as the same;)

You could start by reading the link that Zerks provided above that shows all the county managers, directors of services etc etc salaries.:rolleyes:

bmaxi

books4sale wrote: »

Ye seem to awash with the stink of corruption down there in Wexford. What's the flaming story?

Y'all want to get the house in order double quick.

It makes me feel like starting a thread, is Wexford the most corrupt county in Ireland?

Why, have Ahern, Burke, Lowry & Associates opened up shop here? Mick Wallace, scoundrel though he is, is only in the firing line because he's a lone entity who doesn't have cohorts of suck ups and hangers on covering his arse at every hand's turn for a share of the pickings. Peel away the covers and you'll find as much and more corruption in any county in Ireland, particularly Dublin, and I'm an ex-Dub.

Two words: Haely-Rae