His disappointment palpable, former Minister of State, Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran, expressed his immense dissatisfaction with the manner in which he was treated by sitting Fianna Fáil and Green Party Councillors following his unsuccessful quest to replace his son, Jamie, as a sitting member of Westmeath County Council.
“Long-standing co-option traditions and precedent were completely ignored at Monday’s meeting of Westmeath County Council by the naked ambition and power grab for an independent seat by a combination of Fianna Fail/Greens hellbent on serving their own political interests ahead of the people’s own voting wishes as expressed in the local elections in 2019.
“I allowed my name to go forward, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Jamie Moran as I genuinely believed, given my experience at both local and national politics, that I would have made a positive contribution at Council level for the benefit of the people of the Athlone-Moate Municipal electoral area.
“I think most people would agree that I have an excellent record of delivering for the south of the county, across all political divides, over a 20 year period. It has always been my driver in politics, to try and help people solve everyday problems without getting bogged down in ideology or political divisions,” the former Minister of State commented
In a lengthy statement issued to the media in light of the council co-option process concluding, ‘Boxer’ noted it was “clearly evident” that Fianna Fáil were “determined to block his return to the council”.
“Fianna Fáil in Westmeath were quite happy to ignore national precedent to achieve that goal. Their publicly stated reason for breaking with tradition is “transparency and democracy”. However, I believe it has more to do with personal local ambitions, with no concern whatsoever for the welfare of the electorate, especially at a time when there are three sitting TDs based in Mullingar but none in Athlone or South Westmeath. I fear greatly that Athlone, Moate and Kilbeggan are losing out in terms of jobs and investment while other towns in the region are forging ahead.
“Due to their numerical dominance at Monday’s meeting, Fianna Fáil, propped up by the Green Party, were able to throw well-established precedent and procedure for the filling of independent seats on the scrapheap and put in their own favoured nominee onto the council. This move by Fianna Fail/Greens – to interfere with the filling of an independent seat - upsets the political balance as voted on by the electorate in 2019. It fills a genuine Independent seat with a FF beholden candidate. The question of whether this is the right thing for the electorate of this area will be answered in due course,” ‘Boxer’ asserted.
‘Boxer’ noted the numerous causes which he championed during his political term in government and implored the Westmeath County Council to play a pivotal role in growing Athlone to achieve city status as part of the National Development Plan 2040.
“It is very important that Westmeath has a vibrant and effective council chamber. There are many problems ahead for rural Ireland, social, economic and infrastructural and it will be vitally important that our local authority plays its role in the government’s 2040 ambition to grow Athlone into a city, to the benefit of the entire Midland region, something that I had passionately fought for as part of the 2016-2020 government,” ‘Boxer’ added.
‘Boxer’ afforded his appreciation to the sitting Councillors who supported his co-option quest, noting the extended goodwill and encouragement from the Athlone public when it was made known of his intention to return to the political arena.
“I wish to thank the members of Westmeath County Council who supported me during this co-option process – they could clearly see that this power grab by Fianna Fáil and the Green Party will have long-term negative consequences for the council’s elected members by failing to respect the voters of independents and smaller parties.
“I greatly appreciate the massive goodwill and encouragement I received from the public when they learned of my intention to return to public life as a councillor. Unfortunately that door has been closed to me for now by the naked power grab of Fianna Fáil and the Green Party.
“In saying that, I want to wish Paul Hogan every success for the remainder of the council term. I remain willing as always to serve the people, as I have done so since I was first elected to public office in 1999. As F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, ‘Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat’,” ‘Boxer’ concluded.
