Boundary changes spark fresh FG dispute
ELECTORAL boundary lines have sparked a fresh territory war within Fine Gael.
Minister of State for Local Government John Paul Phelan has faced a backlash over his decision to seek changes to municipal boundary lines in Wexford.
Mr Phelan is understood to have clashed with Cabinet Minister Paul Kehoe over the reconfiguration of boundaries in the county. The changes directly affect Mr Kehoe’s electoral base of Enniscorthy.
Fine Gael councillors campaigning in the adjoining Gorey municipal district, where Minister of State at the Department of Finance Michael D’Arcy is based, could potentially benefit from the boundary change.
The issue was raised with Mr Phelan at a Fine Gael local election meeting in Wexford two weeks ago.
Enniscorthy Fine Gael councillors are furious over the change. Fianna Fáil TD James Browne, who is also based in Enniscorthy, raised concerns over the boundary change in the Dáil.
Mr Browne said he could not express the level of “anger and disbelief” from people living in the areas affected by the change in boundaries.
He said there was a “very murky past” of boundary changes in the country.
The municipal change affects the amount of local authority funding allocated to an area rather than the number of councillors elected.
People living in the Kilmuckridge area of Wexford could be most affected.
Mr Phelan has asked Wexford County Council to make a submission to his office setting out concerns it might have with the changes he suggested for the municipal areas.