Dublin City Councillor suggests council staff may be involved in a coup

[JCR]

Could it be that the council staff's refusal to deal with councillor's request could hasten the end of clientilism in local politics?

Only with effect to FF, FG and the Greens, the unions have decided to support SF and Labour's attempts at clientism all the way. The unions are not acting with the good of their members at heart and any PS who thinks they are at this stage is seriously deluded. It is cronyism union style. Mind you, people are easily led into this situation, the slow drip of members from the unions might become much more than that if the unions decide they exist to support SF and Labour and not for the good of the workers or the country.

[dunno]

Most self respecting people don’t know.

Normally a Councillor is approached by one of their less ethically minded voters to obtain services or favours that are against council policy, or to jump a queue etc.

Then the said Councillor puts pressure on the officials to disregard policy for this "special" case.

Sometimes the officials have to play ball to ensure said Councillor votes through some important and real council business essential to the running of the local authority, and viola - Paddy gets the planning permission or grant he should never have got in the first place . . .

Yet another Irish solution to a problem that never existed.

'Less ethically minded...;

Hmmm

I think when person has got the runaround so often and so consistently for, say, contributory pension with Dept of Social Welfare, because no one there wants to make a decision, getting a politician to help is a last resort, and it works often enough for people to resort to it.

[Baron von Biffo]

How is "not deal with any motions, questions or queries" working to rule? Surely, that is a simply a refusal to work as contracted and as such is a strike action for which pay should be docked?

Pay has already been docked, that's why we're in this mess. PS workers are not being paid as contracted so we have no right to expect them to deliver as contracted.

[dotski_w_]

'Less ethically minded...;

Hmmm

I think when person has got the runaround so often and so consistently for, say, contributory pension with Dept of Social Welfare, because no one there wants to make a decision, getting a politician to help is a last resort, and it works often enough for people to resort to it.

It doesn't work, believe me. If anything, its more likely to slow down a decision making process, as the file will be pulled by the correspondence section, who check out the facts of the matter, before returning to the section dealing with it.

They will then prepare a reply which states the position and have a copy of this sent to the file, but that official will not be involved in the final decision. The person who will, certainly in the case of a contributory pension, will do so based on the evidence supplied regarding eligibility (hold-ups are most common in getting other Social Insurance records from the UK). The fact that a TD got on about it, and another section replied to him/her stating the position will have zero impact on the final decision, and will most likely result in it being made later than would otherwise have been the case.

[SirHenryGrattan]

Three weeks ago IMPACT instructed local authority and public service staff to not deal with any motions, questions or queries from any Councillors or TDs from Fianna Fail and the Green Party, this was similarly followed by SIPTU who told their members to do likewise with Fianna Fail, the Green Party and Fine Gael.

Cllr Paul McAuliffe (Fianna Councillor for Finglas/Ballymun) posted the following to his fanpage on Facebook....



Personally, I find the idea of any councillors being prevented from doing any work to be quite apalling. So, on top of a work to rule (where council staff won't answer phones or attend council meetings in the evening) is getting more advanced. And from speaking to some councillors (from many parties) this morning, it looks like this is getting nastier....

What are your thoughts, are the council staff right to refuse to deal with the government parties, or should they do the job they're paid to do? And what of SIPTU's boycot of Fine Gael too? Does that make any sense?

I'm not sure if I personally think we're at the coup stage yet, but does Cllr McAuliffe have a point?

Outsource their work and teach them a lesson.

[rockofcashel]

Outsource their work and teach them a lesson.

To who ?

Is that the level of political discourse in the country nowadays ?

Are you indicative of the complete misunderstanding of what the public service are supposed to be doing, and actually doing ?

Outsource their work ? To where, India ?

Christ but some people would make you shake your head and wonder about this much vaunted "education system" we are supposed to have.

[ergo2]

I agree with ROC regarding the multiplicity of representations. some people go to all the local councillors and TD, causing a huge amount of unnecessary correspondence.

Still think it is wrong of the the public service to black some elected representatives. The cutbacks and increased pension contributions were a necessary part of the package to stablise public finances.

[rockofcashel]

I agree with ROC regarding the multiplicity of representations. some people go to all the local councillors and TD, causing a huge amount of unnecessary correspondence.

Still think it is wrong of the the public service to black some elected representatives. The cutbacks and increased pension contributions were a necessary part of the package to stablise public finances.

And I agree with you there too. But, it is hardly surprising that those people who are being hit with cutbacks (and please don't call it increased pension contributions because huge numbers of the public service will get no extra benefit for the "pension levy") are now less disposed to help members of the parties who are responsible for the cutbacks.

Like I said already, contrary to what people believe, it is not the job of public servants to run around doing work for councillors.

Perhaps it is time for councillors to realise what there function actually is, and what it should be, given the fact that pure cowardice and laziness in the past two decades has changed the function of councillors from being elected to formulate policy and provide leadership (functions which have now gravitated to the Executives of Local Authorities) to being nothing more than gombeen messenger boys and girls

[Libero]

Pay has already been docked, that's why we're in this mess. PS workers are not being paid as contracted so we have no right to expect them to deliver as contracted.

Your idea of contact law seems to overlook or exclude the sovereign power of the Oireachtas to alter private contracts.

[Baron von Biffo]

Your idea of contact law seems to overlook or exclude the sovereign power of the Oireachtas to alter private contracts.

It would do wonders for our reputation as a place to do business if we went down that road wouldn't it?