FF and FG councillors lay claim to chain

Power sharing in local government as Sinn Féin frozen out

Arbitration, consultation, intercession, and deliberation. It began in the quietest corner of the local election count centre, long before even the last of the names to fill the 18 seats on Cavan County Council were declared.

Once Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael were confident that together they'd reach the required benchmark of 10, the parlay between the pair picked up pace, aimed at thrashing out who gets what and when the plum positions over the lifetime of this local government would be occupied.

Together Fianna Fáil (6) and Fine Gael (6) ended up with 12 seats combined, thus fending off any potential uprising were a technical group to form between the three Sinn Féin candidates and Aontú's Sarah O'Reilly, Independent Ireland's Shane P O'Reilly, and Independent Brendan Fay.

The negotiations were led by the party whips - John Paul Feeley for Fianna Fáil and T.P. O'Reilly for Fine Gael - and the agreement going forward is that the high-profile position of Cathaoirleach will be split three/two in favour of Fianna Fáil over the coming five years.

In turn, Fine Gael stand to take three chairs within the council's five Strategic Policy Committees (SPC) over the local government term, with two going to Fianna Fáil.

Despite their obvious numeric superiority, the discussions between FF and FG proved slow. They continued behind closed doors right up to the day before last Friday (June 21) when the AGM took place but, by then, anything worth saying had already been said.

Five years ago Fine Gael were left feeling aggrieved when excluded from the most lucrative positions, with only Carmel Brady getting Leas Cathaoirleach in 2023-24, and Municipal District Chairs given to Winston Bennett (2019-20), Val Smith (2020-21), shared between Madeleine Argue and Peter McVitty (2021-22), and T.P. O'Reilly (2023-24).

Fianna Fáil, by striking their own deal, in contrast claimed three Chairs - Clifford Kelly (2021-22), John Paul Feeley (2022-23), and Philip Brady (2023-24)- with Cllr S.P. O'Reilly (II) and Sarah O'Reilly (Aon) getting the chain in 2019-20 and 2020-21.

The remainder of the Leas Cathaoirligh positions were shared out among Fianna Fáil members except for one, with Patricia Walsh getting the role twice.

Council Cathaoirligh receive an annual allowance, as do Leas-Chathaoirligh, on top of their representational payment. The chamber chiefs take up the position mid year, so two receive close to an extra €10,000 each.

Members who serve as chair of a Special Policy Committees (€6,000), and Cathaoirligh of municipal districts also get an additional payment.

Separate meetings took place with FF/FG and Cllr S.P. O'Reilly (Ind), S. O'Reilly (Aon) and Cllr Fay, at the Hotel Kilmore a week before the AGM was held; while the two main parties met prior to negotiations were held with the three Sinn Féin representatives.

As it stands, the first term as Cathaoirleach has already been decided, with T.P. O'Reilly (FG) elected as the county's first citizen, and Fianna Fáil first-time councillor Niall Smith elevated to vice chair.

Year two will see Fianna Fáil's John Paul Feeley hold office. He last served as Cathaoirleach in 2022, and he will be followed by Fine Gael's Carmel Brady in year three. She is a former chair of Cavan-Monaghan ETB, and served as Leas Cathaoirleach to the outgoing Philip Brady (FF) last year.

Year four will see Áine Smith (FF) get the chain, whose late father Séan twice held the position, from 1989-90 and again from 2003-04.

Capping off the first time that a majority of women are set to hold the position over a single council term, Patricia Walsh (FF) will be appointed in year five, as per the agreement struck.

Vice chairs for Fine Gael for the three years that Fianna Fáil lead the council include Cllrs Trevor Smith, Winston Bennett, and Val Smith.