A COUNTY councillor today slammed his own Council after his attempt to discuss a compulsory purchase order near Moville which would allow the council to lay sewage pipes into Lough Foyle was blocked.
Inishowen Sinn Féin councillor Jack Murray has expressed his frustration after Council officials again blocked a debate on a controversial Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) in Carnagarve
Cllr Murray stated that a debate must be held on the issue as there is no reason that it should not take place.
Commenting after the Inishowen Electoral Area Committee (IEAC) on Tuesday, Cllr Murray said: “For some time, council officials have advised that the controversial Greencastle/Moville Sewage Outfall CPO cannot be discussed as it would be sub judice to a separate case being heard in the High Court.
“However, in the four months since I initially sought to raise this issue, no legal advice has been produced to back this claim. In fact, prior to the May sitting of the IEAC, a senior council official confirmed to me that no legal advice could be provided in writing.
“With this being the case, there is absolutely no reason that the residents of Carnagarve cannot be entitled to have their grievances addressed.
“As a councillor I am answerable to the people I represent. Where constituents feel that they have been aggrieved by the council I have a duty to have their grievances addressed.
“Having written to the County Manager and Cllr Rena Donaghey as chairperson of the IEAC I am now publicly calling for the controversial CPO to be addressed by the council.”
Cllr Murray concluded by saying that any further attempt to block this debate is an obstruction to democracy and is a disservice to the people he represents.
Campaigner Enda Craig welcomed Cllr Murray’s move.
“It is clear that there is no written legal advice and we are fully supportive of Cllr Murray’s stance. This is what democracy should be about,” said Mr Craig.
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