THE ONLY WAY [TO CONTINUE] IS TO HOLD BACK ON WHAT I GIVE TO CONSTITUENTS AND THAT IS NOT A VIABLE WAY FOR ME
doubt her passion and her integrity for the less well off. It’s a rough game and can have an effect on people’s mental helath. It’s only now that this is becoming a bit more obvious. You have to develop your strategy, otherwise it will wear you down. I want to wish her the very best in what she will do for the rest of her life.’
Cllr Fionntáin Ó Suilleabháin said Cllr Wadding was a breath of fresh air and was someone who didn’t treat politics as a game. ‘Everything was straight from the heart. It’s a very challenging job for a lot of people.’
Cllr Anthony Kelly said Cllr Wadding put her heart and soul into the job, working for her community, in particular in the field of housing. ‘She was a great activist and we will miss her bodhrán,’ he said, before being corrected by Cllr Lawlor, who described the musical instrument as an Indian medicine drum.
Cllr Oisin O’Connell said: ‘You are one of a kind. You are one of the bravest people I know. I think this is our loss but for the right reason and I will look forward to seeing you with your bodhrán out on the street.’
Cllr Michael Sheehan said Cllr Wadding was a dissenting voice often in the chamber.
‘You stuck to your principles. You were a voice representing a group of people who are finding it very difficult to get their opinions heard; people on the edges. Being a councillor you get to see a lot of people in their weakest state, living around the edges. There is a huge proportion who are on the edge between life and death. I commend you for having the bravery to say enough is enough. It’s a tough job.’
Cllr Kathleen Codd Nolan lamented the loss of a female voice in the chamber. ‘As the only other female councillor here (presently) it’s incumbent on me to wish Deirdre the very best. She is so passionate and so concerned and her voice came across so well in the chamber. We have to look at the whole stresses and strains (on councillors), particulalry if you are a woman. Many have to go and look after children. It’s really important that something positive comes out of this. We have one less woman in the chamber and I think this will have a negative impact on the council.’
Her old sparring partner Cllr Robbie Ireton paid tribute to the councillor who was sent to the Bessboro Mother & Baby Home in Cork in 1981 when she became pregnant at the age of 18. He said: ‘I wish you the very best. I would say you and I were the best sparring partners here. No matter what debate we got into - and sometimes I would throw a spanner in the works - it would get debated properly. I wish you well in your endeavours and I hope I haven’t contributed to any of your problems. I am certianly going to miss you.’
‘Ah Robbie,’ Cllr Wadding replied, moved by his words.
‘It’s tough for any councillor,’ the North Wexford Labour man continued. ‘I always reckon we are totally undervalued by the state and by citizens,’ adding that councillors are only paid a fraction of what they deserve.
He said the stress of work should be left behind in the chamber.
‘It’s never the chamber work that is the problem, it’s what’s out there,’ she replied.
‘You are dealing with people who are suicidal trying to talk them out of it and being successful and sometimes being unsuccessful. We are not trained for this. We are volunteers who come from communities from where we’ve been elected.’
CEO Tom Enright said Cllr Wadding followed in her father Luke’s public service footsteps as he opened the credit union in Wexford 50 years ago. ‘I am disappointed to see you step down at this stage. It’s not an easy job being a councillor. People don’t come to you unless they have an issue or a problem and sometimes they are in distress. You gave a voice to people who don’t have a voice and you brought their voice out in public.’
Mr Enright said the council and the housing staff have done their best to deal with any issues Cllr Wadding raised on behalf of her constituents. ‘Housing is a huge issue for many, many people in the county at the moment. Thank you for your significant contribution that you made and for the good humour you have had at times here. You have done a huge service representing the people here in Wexford and I look forward to working with Tony.’
Cllr Hegarty said not all councillors are looking forward to hear her bodhrán again even though her musical efforts ‘are certainly held in high regard.’