Department decision paves way for Fionnan Blake(SF) to contest election

A decision by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to reverse its position on firefighters contesting Local Elections now paves the way for Dunshaughlin Station Officer, Fionnan Blake, to contest the Local Elections for Sinn Fein in June.

In October, Blake was selected along with Ratoath-woman Trish Murtagh, to contest the Local Election for Sinn Féin in the Ratoath Electoral Area, but it soon became clear that both Meath County Council and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage considered Blake ineligible to contest the election due to their shared interpretation of the law governing local authority employees contesting elections.

Sinn Féin contested that interpretation, including through a legal letter to Minister Darragh O'Brien in late March, stating that they would issue Judicial Review proceedings if the matter was not resolved.

On 3rd April, the Department issued an updated Circular, consistent with the Sinn Féin interpretation, paving the way for Mr Blake and other retained firefighters similarly excluded, to contest June's elections.

Sinn Fein Director of Elections in Meath, Deputy Darren O'Rourke said;

"I very much welcome this u-turn by the Department. I am only sorry that it took so long and such effort to secure. I have personally been pursuing this issue since October when it first came to my attention that Meath County Council and the Department shared the same interpretation of the Statutory Instrument governing which local authority employees can and can't contest local elections.

"The issue of contention related to the way in which the salary of firefighters is assessed. Firefighters receive a basic income, with additional payments for other activities such as emergency call outs and drills. Meath County Council and the Department insisted that firefighters should be assessed on all of their income, i.e. basic income plus additional payments. Our contention in Sinn Féin was that this interpretation was completely unfair. It would mean a firefighter in a quiet station could contest elections but a firefighter in a busy station could not. Sinn Féin argued that firefighters should be assessed on their basic income alone. This is, after all, how they are assessed if they are going for a mortgage or a personal loan. We argued that call outs, for example, vary year by year. They are not guaranteed and shouldn't be considered as such.

"Despite repeated efforts to make the Department see sense, they restated their position in Parliamentary Replies and letters to me in the following months. They also issued a Circular to all local authorities reaffirming that firefighters should be assessed on all of their income, basic income plus additional payments.

"When we received written confirmation from Meath County Council on 19th March that Mr. Blake would not have been eligible to contest the elections, we were left with no option but to pursue the matter legally. In a letter to Minister Darragh O'Brien, we challenged the Department's interpretation of the relevant Statutory Instrument (SI 216/2004), and stated our intention to initiate Judicial Review proceedings if the matter was not resolved.

"Thankfully, the State Solicitor responded to us and the Department moved to clarify the position through an updated Circular issued on 3rd April. Amounting to a welcome u-turn, they now say salary should be assessed "exclusive of overtime, call out/incident attendance payment and/or any allowance".

"This makes absolute sense and ensures that retained firefighters are compared fairly with their local authority peers. We should remember that the the purpose of this exclusion in the first place, is to avoid conflicts of interest where senior council officials with decision-making responsibility end up becoming elected councillors. What matters is the grade of employment, not how much people earn in allowances.

"Fionnan Blake is a dedicated firefighter for 25 years, working on the frontline without fear or favour. He is an excellent local election candidate and has been busy on the local election campaign trail, despite the distraction of this wrangling. I wish him well in the run in to polling day in June," Deputy O'Rourke concluded.