...but most did not want any changes made
SUBMISSIONS TO the Boundary Commission were accepted until mid-February and it was a subject that numerous councillors in County Wexford felt strongly about, making their own observations on the process.
Three Wexford Borough District councillors made solo submissions. The entire Gorey Municipal District Council made a joint submission through District Manager Amanda Byrne; members of the Fianna Fáil party made a collective submission, and a number of that party’s members also made individual submissions.
Independent councillor for Gorey Mary Farrell believed that, historically, having four electoral areas had been effective and any change would have a negative impact. She believed that councillors were already overworked and any reduction of numbers in their area would be detrimental. She also believed a change of boundary would negatively affect independent councillors who would not have a party machine behind them to make ground in a new area.
She remarked: ‘If it’s not broken, why fix it?’
Wexford town based councillor Davy Hynes lamented the abolition of the town councils in 2014 saying no one had been given a vote on it. He remarked: ‘Anything less than restoration is only tinkering and won’t improve local government in any meaningful way.’
The Gorey Municipal District submission said that any change of boundaries would impact on long standing relationships that local communities and district had with their local authority.
The Wexford branch of Fianna Fáil felt that there was no need to break from the four areas, other than to split Wexford into two five-seater groupings. They pointed out places like Kilrush-Askamore, Ferns, Boolavogue, Glynn, Screen and Clonroche that were split between two electoral areas.
Cllr Malcolm Byrne believed that little disruption was needed around the county and suggested that the splitting of Wexford into two five-seater areas would solve issues of representation.
Cllr Barbara Anne Murphy felt that if the boundaries were drawn up wrong, it would result in citizen disengagement. She also said that places with shared identities should not be split between two districts.
Cllr George Lawlor, in his submission, felt there was an imbalance in the number of town based councillors saying that prior to 2014, 12 had repre-
sented a population of 20,000 and now four councillors had the same amount, making the workload almost impossible. He believed that the Mayor was now anonymous to large sections of the community due to the district size and felt that a very definite urban-rural divide had developed. He believed that the town had suffered and that a split area, with a town mayor and a chairman in the rural area, was the solution.
Cllr Pip Breen felt that any changes would bring disruption and cost with no improvement in delivery of services.
Finally, Cllr Jim Moore argued that the Wexford district was a 50-50 split between rural and urban, saying that some parishes stretched into what was deemed an urban area. He felt that changing the boundaries would create an urban-rural divide and provide transparency on the subject of equality between the two areas. He added that people in a district tended to gravitate towards their nearest town and integration should be prioritised.
One man who will spy opportunity in the boundary changes is Labour area representative and former councillor Joe Ryan who felt the ring fencing of seven seats for Wexford should secure better representation for the people of Wexford town. He felt that the question of whether the change is good for Wexford town or not would ultimately be determined by the candidates elected and whether they could work together in the interests of the largest town in the county. He added that the newly established Kilmore area was effectively a ‘group of death’ as at least five outgoing councillors will be contesting five seats, with undoubtedly stiff competition from other candidates in the area.