‘Thin skinned’ ministers will no longer be referenced by name during meetings of Wexford County Council

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

Sitting ministers will no longer be referenced by name during council meetings in Co Wexford after an amendment was approved by elected representatives.

Despite protests from Sinn Féin councillors Tom Forde and Aoife Rose O’Brien, the proposal to remove the names of ministers from the wording of motions was passed following a vote at the January meeting of Wexford County Council (WCC).

The proposed amendment, which was initially submitted by Councillor Anthony Donohue (Fine Gael), had been examined by the council’s protocol committee and brought before the January meeting for approval.

The amendment stated that, "In the wording of any notice of motion, the name of any minister shall not be included. Instead, the appropriate title of the minister shall be used. This applies to all references within the motion, and where applicable, the full title, such as The Minister for (Department), or The Minister of State for (Department) must be used, ensuring consistency and formality in the motion’s language.”

Cllr Forde immediately raised an objection.

“I note that Housing Minister James Browne has raised this on local radio and had a bit of a pop at Sinn Féin councillors for using his name in motions,” said the councillor. “I don’t see what the big deal is. It’s fair enough to use their names as long as it’s done in a respectful manner. It’s important to note that a minister’s position can change over time as well, so it’s good to be able to look back at these motions and have a name included in it.”

The Sinn Féin councillor argued that the removal of names from motions would, in effect, absolve the minister from any associated blame.

“This amendment is designed to disassociate the ministers from the issues we’re raising and not have them on the public record,” he said. “We’re talking about respect, but the ministers should have the respect to reply to the motions we submit in this chamber; the current housing minister has failed to reply to a lot of my motions so far.”

He was supported by Sinn Féin colleague Cllr Aoife Rose O’Brien who said she had regularly been contacting Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien regarding the parlous state of roads in south Wexford. And she contended that removing names from motions would mean those taking over new positions would be left carrying the can for their predecessors.

“It’s important to have the minister’s name included for clarity, we have seen situations left hanging during a term where a minister hasn’t resolved an issue and it has been passed on to their successor.”

Meanwhile, independent councillor Michael Sheehan questioned the toughness of those in ministerial roles, describing anyone fearful of having their name included in a motion as “thin-skinned”.

However, county secretary Michael Drea said the narrative that sitting ministers wanted their names removed from motions was “misleading”.

“This proposal came from the members of WCC’s protocol committee. Cllr Anthony Donohue proposed that it be referred to the committee and it was discussed in their first meeting. And it’s now before the members.”

He was supported by Cllr Barbara-Anne Murphy who said the amendment had been proposed “long before James Browne became housing minister”.

The decision whether to approve or reject the amendment was ultimately put to a vote with 16 in favour and 13 against. As a result ministers shall no longer be mentioned by name in any motions submitted during meetings of WCC.

WCC’s protocol committee consists of Cllr Barbara-Anne Murphy (FF), Joe Sullivan (FF), Jim Codd (AONTÚ), Anthony Donohue (FG), Tom Forde (SF)*, Jackser Owens (IND), Catherine Biddy Walsh (LAB), Donal Kenny (FF), Garry Laffan (FF), Pat Kehoe (FG), and Oliver Walsh (FG).

*Cllr Forde was recently added to the committee as a replacement for his party colleague Fionntán Ó Suilleabháin following the latter’s election to Dáil Éireann. After the meeting Cllr Forde confirmed that he had not been present when the decision to remove names from motions was approved by the committee.