Land for Maynooth community 'delayed by Stagg'

LEIXLIP, 24 October, 2001: OPINION by Paul Kelly. I am very disappointed at the delay caused to the Maynooth Development Plan by Emmet Stagg’s petulant outburst in Kildare County Council on Monday. Even allowing for the fact that he is campaigning for the general election, his scandalous accusations about corruption in Kildare County Council were completely over the top. The fact that he has been back-tracking since he made them makes his refusal to withdraw them even worse.

He has misled the public, in his comments in the chamber on Monday, and on CKR Radio yesterday, by trying to suggest that he made no such allegations. My recollection, and that of all the other members who spoke yesterday is that he did indeed make them, and realizing his mistake, tried to bluster his way out. I am glad that he has completely withdrawn any suggestion of improper conduct on my part, and on the part of the present members of the council. However, he has deliberately allowed allegations to remain in respect of former members of the council, and this is unacceptable.

Kildare County Council conducts much of its work through Area Committees and this system has worked successfully for many years. In the case of the Maynooth Development Plan, the four members of the Leixlip/Maynooth Area Committee have spent a considerable amount of time preparing the Plan. We have had the benefit of the expert advice of consultants Brady Shipman Martin; we have consulted widely with residents, landowners, developers and members of the Maynooth community; we have discussed the options with the planning officials. 

After all of these deliberations we put together a plan which has compromises but which we feel is the best plan for Maynooth at this time.  We presented that Plan to our colleagues on the Council at Monday’s meeting and we asked for it to be adopted so that it could be put on public display for the people of Maynooth. We expected them to accept the recommendation of the Area Committee which had been carefully and thoughtfully put together. 

Deputy Stagg chose to interfere in that process and delay progress with the Plan by raising spurious and untruthful issues for no apparent reason except possibly to gain publicity for himself. There was no basis for his allegations against his fellow Council members. They had nothing to do with the Maynooth Development Plan. They served no purpose other than to delay the adoption of the Plan and the consequent acquisition of much needed land for sporting and community purposes. 

The meeting, which was scheduled to deal with 34 items of business, had to be adjourned at item 6 due to the disorder caused by Deputy Stagg.  He has not only delayed the Maynooth Plan but other important business as well. This conduct does not befit a man of his experience and a representative of Dail Eireann. As he well knows, he would not be allowed to disrupt the business of Dail Eireann in a similar way.

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