Court orders Frank McBrearty not to attend Donegal council meetings this month

Donegal County Council has secured a High Court order restraining one of its elected members from attending any of its meetings until the end of the month.

The council sought orders to enforce the suspension of Cllr Frank McBrearty, which was voted on last month by councillors, the court heard. The vote arose out of the allegedly disorderly way Mr McBrearty had conducted himself at council meetings.

Prior to the orders being made, Mr McBrearty told the court he would attend the upcoming council meeting as a “democratically elected councillor” and will “take the consequences”.

“I am prepared to sit in Mountjoy as long as I have to…I have a duty to represent the people of Donegal at that council meeting and to expose corruption.”

Mr McBrearty, of Tullyvinney, Raphoe, came to national prominence over a decade ago due to the Morris Tribunal’s ruling that gardaí­ had tried to frame him for the 1996 murder of Richie Barron.

The independent councillor claimed he was restricted in making points of order at council meetings and had at various points been muted during online meetings.

Exposing corruption

He said he has been raising issues of public importance and exposing alleged “systemic corruption” within the council.

Marcus Dowling SC, for the council, said the injunction was sought to ensure that Mr McBrearty complies with the decision of January 31st to suspend him from attending council meetings. He attended a meeting last week and allegedly disrupted it, resulting in it being adjourned to next Monday.

Mr Dowling said there is an “obvious public interest” in the council being able to conduct its business. The suspension was arrived at as a result of a “direct exercise of an express power” of directly elected members of the council, he said.

The court heard that 33 of the 37 elected councillors voted in favour of the motion.

Mr Justice Senan Allen said he was satisfied to grant the orders sought, including one preventing Mr McBrearty from attending, speaking or taking part at any meetings, or committee meetings of the council until midnight on February 27th.

Duty to abide

The judge said it was Mr McBrearty’s “right and his duty” to represent his constituents, but in doing so he also had a duty to abide by the requirements of law and any lawful rulings of the council.

He said the evidence before the court was the chairman of the council had put in motion a procedure provided for in the Local Government Act, which lead to the suspension.

While it was “quite clear” Mr McBrearty is dissatisfied with the decision, he did not make any formal application to challenge it and “clearly he is bound by it”, said Mr Justice Allen, who awarded the council its costs.