Sinn Fein councillor Sean McGlinchey sanctioned after breaching code of conduct

By Caoimhe Hegarty

Local Sinn Féin councillor, Sean McGlinchey last night expressed his disappointment after an adjudication hearing by the Commissioner for NI Local Government Ethical Standards, found that he was in breach of the Councillors' Code of Conduct.

At the hearing, held in Coleraine yesterday (Monday), Acting Commissioner, Ian Gordon, imposed a sanction of censure on councillor McGlinchey following comments he made to the Director of Environmental Services at a council meeting held on on September 22, 2015.

It is understood that Mr McGlinchey raised an issue with the council officer after requesting financial support for a community clean-up project organised for Dungiven.

Councillor McGlinchey last night claimed that the finical support he requested was a sum of £80 to buy sweets and refreshments for children which were taking part in the clean-up.

A statement released by Local Government Commissioner for Standards last night stated: "Councillor McGlinchey was critical of the Director as he felt he had been given no help nor assistance from council officials. The matter raised was not directly linked to the committee report being considered under the Council agenda item. The remarks amounted to a strongly worded and unwarranted criticism of the Council Official’s professionalism."

The statement continued: "Councillor McGlinchey was in breach of the provisions relating to Paragraphs 4.1 (c), 4.13(a) and 4.14 in the Councillors’ Code.  In reaching the decision, the Acting Commissioner noted that Councillor McGlinchey had accepted his failure to comply with the Code and had since apologised to the Council Official and undertaken further training on the Code of Conduct. The issue arose from a legitimate concern on the part of Councillor McGlinchey seeking support for a local community clean-up project. The effect, however, of raising this matter without proper notice was that a Council Official was subjected to public criticism without being afforded an opportunity to respond or to defend his reputation. Councillor McGlinchey’s actions were inappropriate and caused offence and embarrassment to the Council Officer."

Speaking last night, the Sinn Féin man stated that he felt that the issue should have been dealt with internally.

He also warned that he will be submitting a Freedom of Information Request (FOI) to recover the costs for the 18 month-long process.

"I am very disappointed about the outcome of today's hearing.  On the date in question, I had a debate with a council officer over funding for the annual community clean-up in Dungiven. I asked for £80 to buy the children taking part, some sweets and mineral. As a result of this debate, there has been an 18 month-long process," he said.

The Dungiven man continued: "I would like to clarify that I never had any issue with the council official. There was a debate but we sorted it out on the night. We shook hands afterwards. I don't believe that I was cheeky, or angry, all I was doing was arguing the case for local children, supporting a local cause. I felt that the local council should have showed their support to the event."

Concluding, councillor McGlinchey said: "This process has been DUP motivated. I believe that it should have been dealt with internally, the DUP are the ones who pushed for this to be taken further. I will be submitting an FOI request to find out how much this process has cost. Despite the outcome of today's hearing, I will continue to work for the people of Dungiven," he said.