'The treachery returns to the betrayer' says council chief

Fri, Jan 18, 2019

Chief executive of Mayo County Council, Peter Hynes, read out a hard hitting statement at the January meeting of the local authority in relation to the recent Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) investigation into himself and councillors Frank Durcan and Cyril Burke — before excusing himself from the meeting when the reports were discussed by the councillors.

Mr Hynes was cleared of any wrongdoing by SIPO, but there were findings made against both of the councillors who were found to have breached the Code of Conduct for elected members. The investigation related to attempts to rezone lands owned by Cllr Durcan on the outskirts of Castlebar and retraction of Freedom of Information requests he submitted to the council, and a series of conversations between the two councillors that took place in 2014.

In his statement, Mr Hynes welcomed that he had been cleared of any wrongdoing, saying: "I welcome the fact that, as I expected the Standards in Public Office Commission has found not a single shred of evidence of any wrong doing on my part. I welcome the findings in my case and my complete vindication. The reports also confirm that the planning process operated by this council is robust."