Politics

Fine Gael TD accuses Simon Coveney of telling lies

Minister held ‘clear the air’ meeting with John Paul Phelan after boundary change dispute

Fine Gael TD John Paul Phelan has repeatedly raised objections to the prospect of a redrawing of the county boundary between Kilkenny and Waterford. File photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times

Fiach Kelly
Wed Feb 8 2017 - 22:58

Minister for Housing Simon Coveney held a "clear the air" meeting on Wednesday with a Fine Gael backbench TD who accused him of telling lies over potential changes to county boundaries.

Carlow-Kilkenny's John Paul Phelan has repeatedly raised objections to the prospect of a redrawing of the county boundary between Kilkenny and Waterford, which would see 13,110 hectares (20,000 acres) and 7,500 people transferred into Waterford.

The final decision will be a matter for Mr Coveney, who holds the local government brief. Mr Phelan again raised objections at the weekly meeting of the Fine Gael parliamentary party on Wednesday evening and accused Mr Coveney of telling lies to him.

He also threatened to resign his Dáil seat if the boundary change went ahead and said Fine Gael would lose significant support in south Kilkenny. Mr Coveney was not at the meeting when Mr Phelan spoke.

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“I think it is pretty clear that I didn’t tell lies,” Mr Coveney said afterwards. “He said some things in [the] parliamentary party; look that happened. I rang him after and we met up. This is a very sensitive issue for him.”

Mr Coveney said there were “crossed wires” on the matter and said the possible boundary change would be discussed as part of the upcoming national planning framework.

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