Conway raises rumpus, Council adjourned

16 July 2003: The new Fine Gael Mayor of Naas Town Council had his first run in with his new FG colleague, Cllr Timmy Conway, after Cllr Conway insulted an independent member of the Council last night.

Mayor Cllr Pat O’Reilly immediately adjourned the meeting when Cllr Conway refused to withdraw his remarks.

The row centred on a motion by Cllr Seamie Moore ‘that the elected members of Naas Town Council should have the only say in spending the E2.75m and E2.9m Community Fund receipts, from recent ‘community gain’ landbank sales.

These landbanks had come as a result of the 1999 Naas Town Development Plan, which was passed just before the local elections in 1999.

Out of the blue, Cllr Conway turned towards Cllr Mary Glennon and said: “That woman would not be able to make a deal in her life!”

Cllr Glennon had not spoken on the matter at all and looked shocked at the attack. [ED: See note at end.]

Mayor O’Reilly immediately remonstrated with Cllr Conway saying the remark was ‘uncalled for’ and was ‘totally out of order’.

“I will not withdraw that,” Cllr Conway snapped back.

The Mayor said the ‘officials had done the deal’ (gaining the landbanks from developers seeking rezonings).

“How dare you. The officials did not do the deal,” Cllr Conway snapped back.

The Mayor then called for order and when this did not happen adjourned the meeting.

Earlier explanations

Prior to the outburst by Cllr Conway, town manager Tommy Skehan said any expenditure will be based on reports brought forward by the county manager or by himself in discussions with members. The question of projects and priorities, he said, will have to be addressed with the members of this Council.

Earlier, acting town clerk Fiona O'Neill had read an offical 'report' which said that 'any proposals for expenditure of capital monies must be brought before the Council for consideration'.

"I have already identified a number of major projects which the Council are committed to undertake," she told the councillors, "and the proceeds from the sale of any lands in the first instance must be applied to the funding of these projects."

Cllr Moore said he was ‘very disappointed' with the direction that the officials are taking with money that they never had prior to the sale of land which came about from our last Development Plan’.

“There were roads and sewerage programmes mooted. It was the officials job to have sources of funding in place to do those jobs. They did not know we would have, or would sell, banks of land but suddenly when we get the money, they want it!” he stormed.

“Because we have some preferences for local and community development, we are being shot down. We make some of these rules and are entitled to break some of our own rules, if it’s necessary!

“Of course we want roads around Naas. In my opinion the Town Council is made up of officials and members but the authority are the members only and that’s why I want agreement from the members on this.”

He went on: “We are not enriching the community. We are making it easy for the officials to enforce officialdom!”

Cllr Conway then joined in saying: “We fought tooth and nail for the Development Plan. The officials fought tooth and nail against it.”

That plan, he said, has now produced E2.75m [from a recent sale of land].

“We have E12m in our bank but the town clerk says it’s for roads and we can’t use it. It’s our ingenuity, our imagination, that got that plan brought and those deals made. Now we have the money, we’re told the only people who can spend it are officials and they will channel it into roads.

“That money came as a bonanza for this Council. We will not stand by and allow an official to tell us that that money is now quarantined and they are the only people that can spend it. It belongs to the community of Naas and was hard fought for. That Development Plan has now produced nearly E12m and it belongs to the town. We will not squander it. We have the right to be able to determine where that money goes.”

The chairman Mayor suggested the motion should be discussed by the Council’s Protocol Committee.

However, both Cllrs Conway and Moore angrily told him: “We’re not going to do that!”

Cllr Conway then demanded: “Who made the deal?” and pointing across the table to Cllr Mary Glennon he snapped: “That woman would not be able to make a deal in her life!”

“Ah come on, Timmy. Grow up,” the Mayor advised him.

“I will not withdraw that,” Cllr Conway snapped back.

“The officials did the deal,” the Mayor told him.

Cllr Conway: “How dare you!. The officials did not do the deal!”

It was at this stage that Mayor O’Reilly called for order and when this was not forthcoming, he adjourned the meeting.

Continued rows

But the rows carried on. Cllr Charlie Byrne told Timmy Conway that he ‘wasn’t pulling with’ his new party colleague.

At this Cllr Conway could be clearly be heard referring to ‘them over there’ and pointing his finger across the table towards ‘the opposition’. “They’ll never agree to anything,” he shouted.

Cllr Glennon replied: “I agreed to sell the land to Aldi which is some of the money being discussed.” (Cllr Glennon had not given her views at all on the matter when Cllr Conway made the earlier remark about her.)

Over the clamour, Cllr Byrne was heard to shout at Cllr Conway: “The late Bill Callaghan was well before his time in having the foresight to threaten to throw you out through the window if you didn’t shut your mouth. And if you come over here, I’ll carry out his wishes for him!”

Cllr Conway demanded: “Are you threatening me?”

“No. But are you threatening me? If you are ... come on over here with your fingers pointing out the way they were ...” Charlie Byrne countered.

“I never threatened you.” Cllr Conway said back.

(EXPLANATORY NOTE: Cllrs Glennon, Egan and McCarthy were elected to Naas Town Council after the 1999 Naas Town Development Plan was passed by the previous Council, and had no say or part in devising the plan.)