Cork councillor Ken O'Flynn to face ethics hearing over 2021 radio interview
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Chair of Independent Ireland, Cork councillor Ken O'Flynn is to face a hearing next month by the country's ethics watchdog in relation to comments made in a 2021 radio interview.
A complaint about Mr O'Flynn, who has represented the northside of the city since 2008, was referred to the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo) after comments he made on the when discussing the Spring Lane halting site.
Mr O'Flynn confirmed he would appear before Sipo, but said he would "not be silenced on behalf of his constituents" because of the hearing.
A statement from Sipo said Mr O'Flynn would face the hearing over "alleged contraventions of the Local Government Act 2001 and the Code of Conduct for Councillors".
The councillor has previously been cleared by the council's ethics registrar after a complaint by the Traveller Equality and Justice Project at the Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights at UCC about what it described as Mr O’Flynn’s “public statements and patterns of behaviour towards residents of the Spring Lane halting site” and Travellers in Cork in general.
In 2022, the then-Broadcasting Authority of Ireland partially upheld a complaint against RedFM’s show for the segment, which it said could contribute to the stigmatisation of Travellers.
The complaint made by Cork Traveller Women’s Network, was partially upheld by the BAI, which found “the presenter had failed to sufficiently challenge the contributor’s views and the broadcast did not provide a wide variety of views on the subject”.
It was found the interview contained an inappropriate and unjustifiable representation of the residents of the Spring Lane halting site and of Travellers generally and the content amounted to stigmatisation of Travellers.