Why put all the focus on Callely when there are much bigger fish to fry?

WHY is there all this hullabaloo in the media at the moment about the behaviour of Ivor Callely?

It is not as though he is the first and only politician to breach the rules. Of course he should be made accountable for his actions.

What mystifies me, however, is why all this outrage about the actions of one man when the nation is in the throes of the worst financial crisis since the foundation of the state, brought on by the actions of many much bigger fish, among them senior politicians, property developers, bankers and town planners, to name a few.

This seems to me to be an excellent example of Parkinson’s Law in full swing where the populace is terribly concerned about the smell wafting from the public convenience on one side of the street while the factory on the other side employing thousands of people goes up in flames.

Against the background of the bursting property bubble, the media, with far greater justification, could tackle the many issues raised in the planning scandals unearthed in the past 10 years and which are seminal to the current national melee.

The term “brown envelope” is a metaphor for all this corruption. The planning scandals of the past decade clearly indicate that county councilors, many of whom double as auctioneers, are not fit for purpose in any matters concerning planning and rezoning. The doubling up of elected representative and auctioneer gives rise to a glaring conflict of interest which, no doubt, is regularly abused.

It would not be out of place for the media to mount a campaign demanding that Environment Minister John Gormley legislate to remove completely this planning function from the hands of local councilors.

Such decisions should be made instead by the officials of the planning authorities exclusively, and decisions should be made in sessions open to the public on set days of the year.

If any such planning official is caught taking backhanders, dig-outs, or bribes (call it what you like), that person would face dismissal from the authority and the prospect of a jail sentence.

PJ Pyne

Castleowen

Blarney

Co Cork