Norris letter too grave a matter for Cork councillors
Initially, when news broke last Friday that the council would meet to discuss endorsing the senator, it might have appeared they’d thrown him a lifeline.
However, over the intervening days it became clear, the letter Mr Norris wrote to an Israeli judge asking for leniency for his former partner, who was convicted of having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old boy, was to prove his undoing as far as a number of councillors were concerned.
Cllr Deirdre Forde (FG) was particularly critical of the senator’s handling of that case. She said to her colleagues moments before yesterday’s vote that the Fine Gael government would bring in a children’s rights bill early next year.
“Are we being consistent then in ignoring the actions of Senator Norris who sought clemency for the perpetrator and on a letterhead which reflects the status of the second-highest house of the Oireachtas?”
“Senator Norris has vast experience in the political arena, he is no novice. Therefore, he must have known and hoped that when he was making a plea for leniency in his capacity as a senator that weight could be added on account of his status. In my view he abused his power in this matter,” Cllr Forde said.
She said in her opinion what he did “rendered him unfit” for the role of president.
David Boyle (Ind), who had proposed the motion to allow the council debate on nominating Norris, said he wasn’t endorsing him as such, but wanted a democratic debate on the issue, especially as the majority of the public wanted him to have the option of running.
Cllr Paula Desmond, leader of the Labour grouping on the council, agreed that there was a large percentage of Irish people who wanted Norris in the race.
However, her party colleague Cllr John Mulvihill said he “couldn’t support a person who’d made representations on behalf of a child abuser”.
Cllr Kevin Murphy (FG) said he felt the same way. “My conscience tells me to oppose (him),” he said.
Cllr Kevin O’Keeffe (FF) said it was only fair that the local authority also considered the candidacy of Rosemary Scallon (Dana).
However, he was told by the Mayor of County Cork, Cllr Tim Lombard, that wasn’t possible as three days’ notice had to be given to members in advance of such a motion being discussed.
Fine Gael leader on the council, Cllr Michael Hegarty, said he thought it had been wrong to call yesterday’s special meeting as it had cost the taxpayer a considerable amount of money.
When Cllr Boyle lodged his motion last Friday night officials had to employ a courier to deliver notices to all 48 councillors.
WHEN is an open vote not an open vote?
That was the question non-Fine Gael members of Cork County Council were asking themselves yesterday after the local authority voted not to support Senator David Norris for a shot at the presidency.
The FG leader on the council, Cllr Michael Hegarty, said his party colleagues would be allowed an open vote.
However, not one of them supported Norris, with the majority voting against him while some abstained.
Mr Hegarty later admitted that a directive from FG headquarters had dictated that its councillors could only vote two ways — vote against or abstain. Supporting Mr Norris wasn’t an option.
The final tally was 20 against, nine for and seven abstentions.
Five of the six Labour members of the council supported Norris.
The only one who didn’t was Cllr John Mulvihill.
David Boyle the independent who’d first proposed Norris gave his backing to the senator along with other independents Declan Hurley and John Paul O’Shea.
Fianna Fáil had an open vote, but that didn’t do Norris much good either.
Cllr Alan Coleman, the party’s leader in the council, did as he had earlier said and supported Mr Norris. However, the rest of his colleagues voted against the senator, except for Cllr Kevin O’Keeffe who abstained.
Sinn Féin’s solitary council member, Cllr Michelle Hennessy, also voted against Mr Norris.
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