Joe Queenan, the former Chairman of Sligo County Council, admitted to Anton Savage this morning that his comments on an RTE Investigations programme were “a major mistake on my behalf” and he was “totally wrong”. However, despite resigning from the Fianna Fail party he told Anton he has no intention of resigning from Sligo County Council and says it is up to the people who have elected him four times since 1999 to decide.
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The veteran Enniscrone Councillor, supermarket owner, farmer and auctioneer was one of three Councillors involved in the RTE Investigates programme who appeared to accept offers of money or future investment from a fake wind farm company – in return for help with planning. During the programme he said that maybe down the road the company could look at investing in an agri-business he was thinking of setting up.
He told Anton this was a “hypothetical situation” and he was “totally wrong” to bring it up. He said there was no business plan for such a business and claims the RTE undercover reporter lead him down the path, claiming it was a set-up. He said he brought it up as he was "talking out loud"
In response, RTE denied this. In a statement to the show, Managing Editor David Nally, Managing Editor of the television current affairs division of RTE said: “There is no truth in Joe Queenan’s claim that he was misrepresented on the programme. The clips used were a fair reflection of the conversation. It was Joe Queenan who raised the subject of receiving a personal benefit in connection with planning and zoning decisions and all of our reporting on him was accurate and fair and in context.”
A still of the meeting between Cllr Joe Queenan and an undercover RTE reporter.
Over the course of an interview with Anton on Thursday morning, Cllr Queenan admitted there is “a fine line between being a politician and a businessman” that it is “difficult at times”.
The former poll-topping Cathaoirleach of the Council resigned from Fianna Fail less than hour after the show following a 3-minute call with general secretary Sean Dorgan. The party says the carry-on of Councillors in the programme was “shocking... unacceptable” and it wants an internal enquiry.
Cllr Queenan during his term as Cathaoirleach of Sligo County Council
In relation to the declaration of interest forms all Councillors have to fill out, he told Anton he filled in all forms from 2009 – 2014 correctly but was busy with matters of a Council meeting on day the 2015 form was due. He admitted he broke the (public representative) ethics code
He heard about the programme from an email on Friday 13 November and says despite allegations in the email he did no wrong during his time as Cathaoirleach and he disputes claims that he was allegedly getting money for himself from RAS rental schemes in Sligo.
He wants the full audio of his 37 minute meeting with the undercover reporter to be made public. “when the full audio comes out you will see I wanted nothing from this thing.” RTE said the clips used on the show were an accurate reflection of the full conversations.
Cllr Queenan claimed that on at least 13 occasions he told the undercover reporter that pre-planning meeting was an impartial one and that he could not guarantee her company success. He also claimed that on at least 14 occasions he told her he did not want money.
He admitted it has been a tough time personally – particularly for his family, but says he has support of locals in Sligo and despite being “a sinner” he says “I made a mistake, it’s time to pick up the pieces and get on with life.”
