THE VOTE TO fill the Dublin City Council seat held by the late councillor Anthony Flynn has been deferred for another month.
The vote, which was due to take place at this evening’s monthly council meeting, will be back on the agenda next month, it is understood.
City councillors have been at odds over who should replace the late founder of Inner City Helping Homeless (ICHH), with Geraldine Molloy, an ICHH volunteer, put forward last October by a number of Independent councillors to fill the seat.
The duty to fill the vacancy is that of the Council as Flynn was an Independent councillor with no nominated replacement. A vote on the issue was previously due to take place in October and December but was deferred amid the split on how to proceed.
Investigations are continuing into allegations of sexual assault against Anthony Flynn, the late founder of ICHH. The 34-year-old north inner city councillor was found dead in tragic circumstances at his home in East Wall in August.
A number of councillors are of the view that someone with links to ICHH should not be co-opted to the council until the charity has been fully wound down and while investigations are continuing into allegations of sexual assault against Flynn.
Further allegations were levelled against the charity in correspondence sent to councillors over the weekend. It’s understood that the issues arising from the correspondence have been directed to An Garda Síochána.
Social Democrat Councillor Catherine Stocker told The Journal that the SocDem group will continue to oppose Molloy’s nomination as they have “always been against the nomination of an ICCH volunteer due to the ongoing unresolved issues”.
The Workers’ Party said that plans to replace Flynn with a former ICHH volunteer were “completely unacceptable”.
“There remain many questions concerning the operation of the ICHH which should be answered to ensure the tragic circumstances surrounding its closure are never repeated,” said Claire O’Connor, the party’s Dublin Central representative.
- Additional reporting from Órla Ryan
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