In my opinion nothing could be clearer than the Article 28A statement above, and to remove the decision making powers in regard to superdumps from the elected representatives of local communities such as Kilconnell and New Inn is nothing short of dictatorship by central government: and wholly in breach of our Constitution.

 

3) Though it was not mentioned at the Ballyfa meeting, it is nevertheless common knowledge that a bribe offer of €50,000 is not being investigated even though efforts to do so have been made in the Dail by the Leader of the Green Party, Deputy Trevor Sargent T.D.  How come it was not any of the east Galway TDs who raised this extremely serious matter in the Dail? 

 

Mr Kilgannon is canvassing on behalf of Fine Gael, who are supposed to be the opposition party.  As such, they should have demanded that President Mary McAleese tested the constitutionality of Waste Management (Amendment) Act 2002 by referring the matter to the Supreme Court - as is normal in cases where there is doubt.  As the present "guardian" of the Republic of Ireland Constitution, that is (in my view) by far the most important responsibility of President Mary McAleese.  And, as recent legal events connected with the Carraigmines Campaigners (M50 Motorway) suggest, at least one other law may have been given the go-ahead under President McAleese's "guardianship" which the Supreme Court later rejected as "unconstitutional".

 

It should also be pointed out, and as became clear yet again at the Ballyfa meeting, that FF and FG now appear to be singing from the exact same "Hymn Book" when it comes to the protection of local community interests regarding superdumps.  "There is nothing we can do" is still the central theme of their very vocal performance, and this six-word mantra was repeated over and over again in Ballyfa, as it has been since Fianna Fail Deputies Treacy and Kitt betrayed our communities by voting in favour of Waste Management (Amendment) Act 2002 in the Dail nearly two years ago.  Who was it once said:  "If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it." ?  

 

The truth is, and as I pointed out in Ballyfa, the Galway County Councillors could - and should (in my view) - all resign on the grounds that they no longer have the legal power they need to do their jobs responsibly under the terms of Article 28A of our written Constitution.

 

As I stated in Ballyfa, I see the ongoing "There is nothing we can do" stance of our elected local government representatives as an absolute disgrace.

 

Instead of resigning after they were made powerless to protect the environment (in the interests of the local communities who elected them), the Galway County Councillors are instead choosing to keep on attending County Council meetings (at the expense of the taxpayer) which they can now have no meaningful input to.  Much more irritating from the viewpoint of the public, is that the FF and FG councillors keep on turning up at anti dump meetings in places such as Ballyfa and Kilconnell - for no purpose, it seems, other than to placate and to appease gullible members of the public on behalf of their tyrannous puppet-masters in Dublin (and elsewhere perhaps), and to try and get votes for themselves in the next election.

 

I would ask why is Mr Kilgannon and his other companions in FF and FG seeking election to a forum which gives them no worthwhile say in local community matters?  It wouldn't by any chance, would it, have anything to do with the many thousands of very easy-to-come-by EUROS they collect in expenses generated for them by the large numbers of hard working taxpayers who are thoroughly sick and tired of listening to them (and their false mantras)? 

 

Is Mise le Meas,

Ann Marie Kelly

Killaan,

Woodlawn,

Ballinasloe,

Co. Galway.

 

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  Which direction from here?

 

           Sicker Dictatorship  <<<  OR  >>>  Healthier Democracy 

 

 

  Who decides?

 

           Elitist Cliques  <<<  OR  >>>  The People  

 

 

Bord Pleanala Appeal (re planned superdump for Kilconnell):
http://www.finnachta.com/BordPleanalaAppeal.htm

 

Copied to:
http://homepage.eircom.net/~kellybrendan/TuamHeraldLetter26February2004.htm

 

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End