Jackie Healy-Rae resigns from Kerry policing committee after assault convictions upheld

The son of the TD Michael Healy-Rae lost his appeal against two convictions for assault at the Circuit Court in Tralee last week.

Jackie Healy-Rae was one of the most vocal members of the policing committee, quizzing gardaí on their strategies in rural areas, drugs and other issues.

The Kerry County Councillor Jackie Healy-Rae, son of the TD Michael Healy-Rae and parliamentary assistant to him, has resigned from his position as a member of the county’s policing committee.

Mr Healy-Rae (26), who is also self-employed, had lost his appeal against two convictions for assault at the Circuit Court in Tralee last week. Subsequently the chairman of the JPC, Fianna Fáil Cllr Niall Kelleher, had asked Kerry's youngest councillor to reflect on his position.

Mr Healy-Rae of Sandymount, Kilgarvan, was convicted in the District Court in Kenmare in 2019 of two counts of assault, including common assault and assault causing harm, of an English visitor to Kenmare during the Christmas period of 2017.

The assault resulted in victim Kieran James suffering a broken nose, torn ligaments and other injuries. Two others, including Jackie Healy-Rae’s younger brother Kevin, last week withdrew appeals to the Section 3 conviction.

Yesterday, in a statement Cllr Healy-Rae said he had informed the CEO of Kerry County Council and the Chairman of the Kerry Joint Policing Committee “that I will be stepping away as a member of the committee”.

He has done so “to avoid the committee's good work being overshadowed by the membership given recent events,” he said.

Joint policing committees determine late night and other aspects of policing and the committees, whose meetings are held in public, are made up of senior garda, community representatives and councillors nominated by their colleagues.

Jackie Healy-Rae, who was elected to the Municipal District of Castleisland/Corca Dhuibhne, was one of the most vocal members of the policing committee, quizzing gardaí on their strategies in rural areas, drugs and other issues.

Privately, there was unease among gardaí that he had not stepped away in 2019.

In his statement, Cllr Healy-Rae said: 

I have always been an active member of the committee, worked diligently, taken the responsibility extremely seriously and enjoyed the workings of the committee, that is why I believe it now to be in the committee's best interest that I step away.

"I look forward to continuing my work as an elected member of Kerry County Council, a role I was elected to by the people of the Castleisland Electoral Area to represent them and the people of Kerry."

He had no further comment to make beyond the above statement in relation to this matter.

At the Circuit Court last week, his conviction for Section 2 and Section 3 assault was affirmed and Mr Healy-Rae was given a five-month sentence on the Section 3 assault and a three-month sentence on the Section 2 assault to run concurrently and all to be suspended for six months.

Section 13 of the Local Government Act, 2001, makes provisions for the disqualification from membership of a local authority or its committees if a councillor is imprisoned for six months.