Councillor wins legal argument over parking fine

A local councillor had a parking conviction overturned on appeal at Galway Circuit Court.

In December 2017, Cllr Pádraig Conneely was convicted of parking illegally by Galway District Court – a conviction that saw the court impose a €150 fine plus costs on the Fine Gael councillor.

In seeking permission to appeal, Cllr Conneely submitted to the court that the Chief Executive’s Order to take legal proceedings against him was invalid.

District Court Judge John King granted Cllr Conneely permission to appeal to the Circuit Court.

Cllr Conneely claimed that under the Local Government Act 2001 (Section 151), the Chief Executive Order should be precise and certain and clearly comply with the limits of the statutory power of the local authority on whose behalf the order is made.

Cllr Conneely submitted that the legislation states that when the Chief Executive is carrying out executive functions on behalf of the local authority, he or she must act by way of a signed order.  It was claimed that any orders by the Chief Executive must be signed before the authorisation of any executive functions.

As a result, Cllr Conneely argued that any orders that are made “post facto” are invalid and that it was not sufficient to retrospectively validate a decision to act.

One of the executive functions which must be carried by order of the Chief Executive is “a decision to take legal proceedings”.

It was stated that the decision to take legal proceedings against Cllr Conneely was taken on July 7, 2017, but it wasn’t until July 28, 2017 that the executive order to do so was signed.

For this reason, Cllr Conneely submitted to the court that the Chief Executive’s Order was invalid.

At an appeal hearing before Galway Circuit Court, legal counsel for Galway City Council, Blake and Kenny Solicitors, told presiding Circuit Court Judge Gerald Keys that Galway City Council were allowing the appeal by consent.