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A BITTER ROW has broken out among Anti Austerity Alliance (AAA) activists in west Dublin over the way in which a vacant seat on Fingal County Council was filled.
Local activist Bernadette Rynne has resigned from the party after what she claimed was a “totally undemocratic process” in which she was passed over for a council seat.
Last month, AAA members in Mulhuddart selected Tania Doyle to fill the vacant county council seat – a process known as co-option – after AAA councillor Annette Hughes resigned for health reasons.
In a lengthy resignation letter posted to her Facebook page on Friday night, Rynne claimed she had been told last year she would be first in line to be co-opted to any vacant AAA seat. She claimed the selection convention was “an absolute farce”.
A number of other west Dublin AAA activists commented on the post, accusing Rynne of misrepresenting what happened, with one accusing her of “bitter bullshit”.
The row underscores tensions between Socialist Party members who are part of the AAA and those who are solely members of the alliance.
The Dublin 15 AAA group hit back at Rynne in its own Facebook post, claiming her letter was full of “disgusting distortions, untruths and slander”. The group claimed Rynne had tried to contradict the party rules by insisting she should be automatically nominated.
Rynne, who works as a nurse, unsuccessfully contested the local elections last year, winning 490 votes in Mulhuddart where Ruth Coppinger was elected.
With Coppinger also elected to the Dáil in the Dublin West by-election, the new TD’s vacant council seat went to Matt Waine. The Socialist councillor had unsuccessfully contested the local election in the neighbouring Castleknock ward where he had served on the council since 2009 having been co-opted onto Joe Higgins’s old seat when he was elected to the European Parliament.
Rynne said this decision was insulting to the general public, telling TheJournal.ie:
I could not conceive how a person could jump from one ward to another where they haven’t got a single vote.
She also claimed that Waine came to her house shortly after the local elections and told her she would be first in line for any future co-option. Waine denied this, saying the AAA’s constitution dictated that as Coppinger’s seat was a Socialist Party seat, it therefore had to be filled by a member of the party.
Waine explained: “It was quite clear that it was Ruth’s seat and that the Socialist Party would have first refusal, if you like, for suggesting a replacement.”
Of the conversation with Rynne at her house, he said:
What I said was that if there was a vacancy in the future she would have the right to go forward for that. Bernie interpreted that as a promise, but the seat wasn’t in my gift. What she claims just doesn’t stand up.
Rynne claimed that when Annette Hughes’ vacant seat became available she was discouraged from putting her name forward for it and said that the convention where Doyle was nominated by members was “an absolute farce”.
The meeting, which took place in Blakestown on 28 May, saw Doyle nominated for the council seat ahead of Rynne by 17 votes to 6. Rynne and some of those who voted for her subsequently left the meeting in protest.
Rynne claimed that some of the members present on the night were not regular attendees at AAA meetings and included friends and relatives of Doyle’s. She also said that Waine had changed the rules to allow any member who had attended just one meeting to vote on the night.
“Half the delegates were complete strangers to me. They consisted of a young relatives and friends of the eventually successful candidate,” she said.
Waine said this was not true and insisted that each one of the members present on the night was paid up and fully active within the movement.
Each one had been active on numerous occasions and that was what was agreed at the initial meeting. The fact that she doesn’t recognise everyone is because she hasn’t been as active post the 2014 elections.
Rynne insisted that she had been dropping leaflets in schools and estates and attended several AAA meetings in recent times. She said the entire experience had left her to conclude that “politics is a dirty world”.
This is how awful political groups can be internally. They have slated and demonised me and they have cut me down.
Waine added: “This is politics, it’s par for the course that there are going to be disagreements on things. It’s unfortunate how it’s unfolded.”
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We do have a decent health care system. Health care is available to those without insurance. Living in the U.S I see that now. Health and education were the two things that I would have complained about myself in the past. It’s crazy that a visit to a GP here can cost up to 200 dollars! Yes our health care system is a bit messed up but at least it’s available to everyone.
I pity anyone with a serious illness in this country with the state of the health system. The government need to get their act together and start treating people with the dignity and respect they deserve and not with the disgraceful entity they call our health service.
Without the shadow of a doubt the stress that people are going through will throw up a lot of problems in the future for them ,it’s causing people to do away with themselves as is well known
Probably caused by stress and who do we blame for that?
Who really knows what’s the cause but I’d say a good healthy diet couldn’t hurt.
Smoking, lack of exercise, high fat diets, alcohol intake, lack of fruit and veg.
If all this things were addressed the rates of chronic disease would plummet.
And sugar consumption needs to be reduced in a big way especially amongst the female population. The oul ones love cakes and biscuits but good luck trying to change their ways
Soooooooo….we’re saying that rates of smoking and drinking and poor diet have increased in Ireland? Not likely…more likely caused thru increased stresses due to the economics issues of the past decade+…
Water flouridation?
for the thumb downers, report commissioned and then buried by ff and the greens when the were busy ruining the country, if you haven’t got time just read the conclusions and recommendations http://www.scribd.com/mobile/doc/167323404?secret_password=syvmvagq062jpi6lc6f&width=982
Interesting that you highlight a report which concludes that the only group potentially at risk are infants being bottle fed, and the article specifically refers to the over 50s.
Can you please offer ONE peer reviewed study which shows that fluoride as prescribed in the concentrations in Irish water (0.6-0.8 ppm) is unsafe?
If you want to talk to an expert on the subject I refer you to Aisling FitzGibbon.She will answer all your questions, should you have any https://m.facebook.com/TheGirlAgainstFluoride?id=401743916552576&_rdr
And are newborn babies being bottle fed not some of the most vulnerable? Their bodies and brains are still growing yet they are being contaminated by fluoride.
These are the ones we should be protecting the most
Having gone through severe stress myself in my twenties for a variety of reasons as a result in my 30s and high blood pressure and anxiety. I know so many others going through similar stress and it doesnt look good for the future as a nation
That’s the thing with stress it can manifest itself in many ways. I get stomach ulcers. At least with those I don’t have to take medication daily.
More than half of Irish people over 50 with two or more chronic diseases…this is a scary statistic. Whilst I’m not familiar enough to comment on our health system, I think it’s time we started looking at prevention rather than cure. That is what we put into our bodies, our food. Although we obviously make our own choices and many times we make very poor choices, we are not being helped by government and media.
Unfortunately there is big money for our government and food companies in making us choose unhealthy products and there is little appetite to inform us about the clear dangers. Eating a diet full of processed foods that are full of sugar and have additives such as high fructose corn syrup and aspartame are a recipe for disaster. These foods lack any real nutrients, are damaging to our bodies. We should be eating more natural foods that help maintain optimum health. It should be no surprise that after years of eating sub standard food, that people will begin to suffer a variety of health problems.
Another statistic from the summer stated that 31.8 per cent of our 7-8 year old are overweight or obese. Regardless of what shape the health care system is in, it is clear that we are breeding a nation of overweight, unhealthy, people who will unfortunately face numerous problems down the line.
Don’t want to have to visit the doctor as often ? Well stop eating rubbish and feeding your children rubbish and eat natural real food.
Chronic austerity and political flatulance.
An excellent case for the introduction of free GP care across the board, or at least for the under 40′s. Illness later in life costs the state a lot more and could easily be reduced by some basic socialising of the entry level health system to catch disease early on.
I’ve never understood the groups against water fluoridation. Everything the groups have to say that I’ve read have no scientific backing unless I’ve missed them in which case please show me so I can read. In the long run I think there are added benefits to it. But if you have a peer reviewed article or anything else you may find on pubmed about the topic I’d love to read it.
My friends house in North Dublin. The water from the tap is disgusting. Like drinking a cup of bleach. Gives you cramps. Fingal County Council.
I think there are benefits too. The FDA called it “…the greatest public health initiative of the 20th century.” But I would still like to see some kind of scientific study into the long term effects of fluoridation.
What good is the extended life span we are always being told sets is apart from our ancestors if we spend that extended time sick?
Longer life expectancy is usually pushed as our biggest achievement, the morbidity rate (ie – rate of chronic diseases) has raised just as much, but it’s not talked about enough.
Wonder what they will suggest, more low fat, high sugar and chemical laden diets? More drugs?
At age 64 I discovered a way to completely reverse my Diabetes Type 2.
Wrote a short eBooklet on how I discovered it.
Available free on Kindle Prime – “The Walnut Cure for Diabetes Type 2″
Hope it works for you or friend or family member.
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