The Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council says he’s “horrified” by what he believes was a suggestion that he’s “racist” towards Travellers.
It follows a contentious meeting of the local authority yesterday, which saw fierce debate over plans for ‘horse exclusion zones” within Kilkenny city.
Andrew McGuinness’ proposed Horse Bye-Laws were passed in a landslide 20-to-one vote, with Cllr Maria Dollard the only dissenting voice
Cllr Maria Dollard was the only one to vote against the regulations, which she claims are discriminating against the local Traveller community.
Cathaoirleach Andrew McGuinness believed Cllr Dollard was accusing him of racism, a notion he strongly refutes. He told KCLR News “I have never in my life been called a racist or been accused of doing anything racist and I was shocked and, to be honest, I was horrified by that remark today and I reiterated my point which was supported by the majority of members there that this is not about culture this is about cruelty, this is about making sure that people that own animals are responsible for their animals, this is about making sure that the roads are safe”.
But Cllr Dollard says she wasn’t accusing Cllr McGuinness of racism, saying “No it isn’t the case, what I was referring to is the fact that Traveller culture is intrinsically linked to horse ownership so it’s the two things are tied together and I was pointing out that the Irish Traveller Movement, it’s on their website, they talk about the ways in which travellers are discriminated against institutionally or structurally, what they mean is that where there are laws embedded in society that specifically I suppose criminalise aspects of Traveller culture and they pointed out that the Control of Horses Act is an example of how they can be discriminated against, intentionally or unintentionally, and that is what I was referring to”.
