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Irish Independent

Wexford councillors question ‘national and international' criteria for nominees of awards ceremony

This followed a lengthy discussion during the meeting regarding the criteria which was met in order for the shortlist for the Civic Nominations Awards. Some of the Councillors were unhappy with the shortlist and questioned what criteria had to be met to be nominated. Cllr Joe Sullivan began by asking if this awards ceremony was a reserve function or an executive function and was told by District Manager Philip Knight that it is a reserve function. As a result, he asked, 'if it's a reserve function then who makes the decision about who's on the list and who's not?' The list was compiled from nominations each councillor selected, however, some of the people put forward were excluded from the list as they did not meet the criteria of being 'national or international standard'. "We are a local council, please don't lose sight of that. If we're not going to acknowledge the achievements of the local people in this area, we're going on to the national stage and how many genuine cases have we there of headline national news,' said Cllr Sullivan. He went on to state that the list should have been put in front of Councillors and each candidate should be discussed. 'There are a few people that I think should be added to it and I want to name them because they are people who have made a significant contribution here,' said Cllr Sullivan. Cathaoirleach Oliver Walsh requested that Cllr Sullivan did not name these people, in fear that some people or groups would be excluded or offended. Similarly, Executive Engineer Liz Hore added that the ceremony is centred around honouring local people who have made 'significant achievements'. 'Lets not lose sight of what this is all about, it's about goodwill from all of us,' said Ms Hore. Additionally, Cllr Darragh McDonald came at this issue from a different angle and addressed the fact that the list was 'sport heavy' because of the national and international criteria. "If we limit it to national, we limit it to sport in a lot of ways. People in this town deserve recognition for their contribution to Gorey as well, so I think we need to address that in the new criteria,' said Cllr McDonald. He also requested a list of the previous nominees, which he could refer to when making his nominations. Cllr Mary Farrell agreed with both Cllr Sullivan and Cllr McDonald that the focus of the ceremony should be 'to recognise local achievements' and that 'there are people who have made huge contributions to our communities, where we live and work' and they may not have connections to sport. She also felt it wasn't necessary to nominate sporting clubs. ADVERTISEMENT To sum up the main purpose of the awards, Ms Hore said, 'it's a good thing to do, it's about inclusion. I take your point, we need a bit more diversity in terms of the categories and sports. So, lets let the members look at the broader sense of it'. After the meeting, the members revised the nominations by looking at the candidates which had already been shortlisted.