Deputy Michael Ring TD has strongly objected to having his private business discussed in the pub. He told a meeting of the authority that his private business was between himself and his family. He made his remarks when calling on the council to write to the Minister of the Environment to review the newly introduced ethics legislation which compels elected members to make an annual declaration of their interested. … Independent Councillor Richard Finn was also outraged that existing councillors have to disclose the details of their private property when candidates who go up against them in the June elections do not. "There is no level playing field. I demand that other candidates should put their interests forwards," he said.

This is another account of the debate carried in the Mayo News the previous week but is worth highlighting again if only because we are in an election year. We will shortly be faced with a bevy of auctioneers at the door wanting us to vote for them – again. Does the fact that we Mayo voters have elected so many auctioneers, large landowners and developers perhaps says something about our apathetic nature? The fact that the councillors are complaining bitterly about having to reveal the amount of property they own to the electorate says something too. So it is good to see lots of comment in the run-up to June. See the Editorial from the Connaught for more of the same…. 

Members of Mayo County Council have a bee in their bonnet over legislation that forces them to declare their property interest. All public representative are required to make such information available on foot of section of the Local Government Act 2001, which came into force last January. This also includes political donations and election expenses. The ethics legislation was introduced following the disclosures that politicians and councillors in the past had abused their positions by avail of inside planning information and or the acceptance of donations in a bid to influence political decisions. We all know how such practise has impacted on this country with the George Redmond and Liam Lawlor etc. sagas. What had the Mayo County Councillors to hide? Why are they so uptight over requirement of the Act. The fact that their property portfolios are up for public scrutiny is good for democracy. And it has to be accepted as part and parcel of opting to go into public life.

Above is the beginning of the editorial in this week’s Connaught Telegraph. Music to these jaundiced ears! Also in the CT this week as reported above is the whinging of the councillors who object to letting the voters know exactly how much land and property they own around the county. Even if they don’t reveal their basic occupations on the council website we know that an actual majority of the 31 councillors fall into one of three land-related occupations: auctioneer, land-owner, developer.

And they don’t want to reveal their land portfolios?

Eh?  

Such a 'huge' error as leaving beaches off the visitmayo site ranks right up there with lack of radio-therapy treatment in the West. I would even go so far as to say that it is worse than the fiendish attempts to keep Mayo people out of Dublin by the clever deployment of that really manky, horrible road that runs across the width of County Roscommon! And that’s even before we talk about its dastardly use to prevent multinational industries from even finding Mayo and locating here to employ Mayo people.