Emotional cllr 'won't be bullied' out of NY trip

An emotional Councillor Jenny D"Arcy declared this week that she would not be 'bullied by the media' into saying whether she intends sticking to an earlier decision to travel to New York on behalf of Meath County Council for the annual St Patrick"s Day celebrations. A media storm has broken over the issue in the last two days with numerous callers to radio stations calling for such foreign visits to be scrapped. Most calls centred on 'the principle" of councils spending money on the trips in straitened economic times for the country and for local authorities. The row has forced Meath County Council cathaoirleach, Cllr Liz McCormack, to pull out of an intended visit to Australia on behalf of the council. She said that although she was honoured to have been selected to represent the people of Meath as cathaoirleach, she had sustained 'enormous personal stress and strain as a result of ongoing attacks in the media'. A statement issued through Meath County Council said she was not prepared to put her family through the continuous pressure and was therefore not undertaking the visit to Australia. In the statement from the council, it was also stated that 'Cllr D"Arcy wishes to state that she is very concerned about the continuous and unacceptable pressure and strain that she and her family are being subjected to regarding her selection to visit New York, on behalf of Meath County Council. She feels very honoured to be asked to represent the people of Meath on this occasion. However, at this point in time, she has not confirmed her intention to travel or not to travel to New York.' Contacted by the Meath Chronicle yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon, an emotional Cllr D"Arcy, who has completed one term on the council and has declared her intention not to run for election in this June"s local elections 'for personal reasons', said that the controversy over the St Patrick"s Day visit was 'a horrible way to end my five years as a councillor'. She said when the controversy had blown up on Monday, her name was the only one which had come up in the media. She said that she had no intention of being 'scapegoated' for the remainder of councillors or ministers who were travelling abroad for the annual celebrations. Cllr D"Arcy said her family was going through a grieving process for her father, Jim, himself a former councillor, who died in 2008. The first anniversary of his death is in three weeks" time, she said, and added: 'My mother was inundated with calls at the house demanding that she answer for my decision to go to New York. I can"t put my mother through that. I won"t have my family subjected to that, I won"t be bullied into making a decision one way or the other. It is completely unfair.' The Fine Gael councillor said that she understood why people might be angry but she was asking them to understand that she was not representing herself, but the people of Meath. She said that she had never taken advantage in any way of her position on the council and did not claim expenses for petrol or phone calls in the course of her work as a councillor. Cllrs Noel Leonard and William Carey are to go ahead with their proposed visit to London on St Patrick"s Day while Cllr Brian Fitzgerald is to proceed with a visit to New York. Cllr Fitzgerald said that he would not be changing his plans to be a representative of the council and the people of Meath in New York over the St Patrick"s Day period. 'These visits are a way of thanking and recognising the Meath people who work among the Irish communities in New York and elsewhere. Many of them are unsung heroes and heroines,' he said. The councillor said he did not agree with people who said that the council should not be represented abroad on St Patrick"s Day 'because of the economic crisis at home'. He said he believed there would be no extravagance on such visits. 'I certainly don"t expect to be wined and dined by anybody,' he added. He condemned the 'vicious' attacks on Cllr D"Arcy, and added: 'I just can"t understand this. Here you have a young person who opted to stand for election to the council, who managed to get herself elected and worked hard for the people who elected her. This is the thanks she gets for it. We are always calling on young people to get involved in political life but who would blame them for opting out when they see the treatment some people get. The debate on all this is not even rational - Meath County Council allocates a total of €10,000 a year for foreign travel, and that"s out of a budget last year of €119 million.' The independent concillor said that, during his visit to the US, he would also be travelling to Cary, North Carolina, at his own expense, to renew contacts with business and community interests there 'so that Meath can benefit in some way from their fantastic achievement in setting up an amazing 'smart park".' Plans are already in train for a similar high-tech park adjacent to Carton House on the Meath-Kildare border. If you have an opinion on whether or not councillors in Meath should or shouldn't visit other countries for St Patrick's Day please register and leave a comment using the facility below.