Ban on discriminatory language by Kildare councillors sought
Aras Cill Dara
KILDARE County Council needs to introduce tougher and more explicit rules against discriminatory and hateful conduct by councillors, according to a public representative.
A “small number of elected representatives” have been guilty of making “derogatory references to asylum seekers”, claimed Labour Party councillor Rupert Heather at July's meeting of Kildare County Council which sparked a tetchy response from some councillors.
Cllr Heather brought forward a motion asking the local authority to write to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO), seeking a stronger Code of Conduct for councillors.
The code, he proposed, should clearly ban councillors from engaging in discrimination, harassment, intimidation and hate speech against people because of characteristics such as race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation and disability.
He asked that the council do this in recognition of its duty to uphold equality, dignity, respect and public confidence in local government.
Cllr Aoife Breslin seconded the motion, while a number of other councillors also indicated their support.
Cllr Heather claimed at the meeting that a “small number of elected representatives” have been guilty of making “derogatory references to asylum seekers”.
He also said that “it is clear that it (the code of conduct) is not being applied” strongly enough.
Independent Ireland councillor Ger Dunne demanded clarity on who cllr Heather was referring to.
Cllr Heather did not respond explicitly to this question.
Cathaoirleach Tim Durkan said that he did not feel the motion was aimed at anyone in particular.
Social Democrats councillors Nuala Killeen, Chris Pender and Claire O’Rourke, spoke in support of the motion.
Cllr Killeen said that “councillors are elected to represent everyone in the community” and not to “punch down on vulnerable people”.
She suggested workshops to ensure that councillors know what is and is not acceptable.
Independent councillor Tom McDonnell said that he did not support the motion, adding that “I represent all people in my community”.
He took exception at the idea that the motion was aimed at him.
Cllr Pender said the code of conduct is “quite dated” and that there is no effective way to hold elected members accountable under it.
He said that, from reading it, he could see that it is not as “usable” as it should be.
Cllr Heather closed the discussion by arguing that the increased presence of the rhetoric described in his motion means that both the code and training need to be strengthened.
Director Joe Bolan issued the council’s response, which argued that the existing code already contains strong provisions on equality, respect and appropriate behaviour, although councillors are free to ask the Minister to review it.
The original 2004 Code of Conduct for councillors was last updated in 2019.
According to the council, the code already contains strong standards requiring councillors to act with integrity, maintain public trust, promote equality, avoid bias, treat colleagues, council staff and others with respect and dignity, and use social media respectfully and responsibly.
The local authority said that, according to the code, councillors should ‘serve their local authority and its citizens honestly, conscientiously and impartially’ and ‘prevent conflicts of interest arising and never seek to use improper influence’.
The response also pointed out that the code already identifies discriminatory behaviour and misuse of social media as unacceptable. SIPO has powers to investigate complaints under existing ethics legislation.
Speaking at the meeting, director Boland suggested that councillors’ views could be passed on to the relevant minister. He assured elected members that the code is “far-reaching” and “is being applied quite forcefully”.
Cllr McDonnell who describes himself as being anti 'illegal immigration', addressed a Tommy Robinson-led rally in London in May of this year where he said: “400 men dock up from god knows where” before adding “mainly Muslims”.
He continued to say that “the threat is Islam” and called for Ireland and the UK to unite against mass immigration, particularly Muslim immigration.
Cllr Bill Clear of Independent Ireland has also previously attracted criticism for comments related to immigration and housing.
Earlier this year he was accused of “marginalising and scapegoating” migrants by fellow councillor Padraig McEvoy after bringing forward a motion relating to the International Refugee Resettlement Programme and framing it in the context of the housing crisis.
Cllr Clear denied this accusation at the time.
