Fine Gael councillors to seek council vote on cancelled Christmas crib

Fine Gael say they will seek to overturn a decision by Dublin’s Lord Mayor to cancel this year’s nativity crib at a city council meeting tonight if ‘a resolution is not found beforehand.’

Cllr James Geoghegan, Fine Gael’s Group Leader on Dublin City Council, says he is seeking a meeting with Lord Mayor Deirdre Conroy ahead of tonight’s meeting where an emergency motion on the Mansion House crib will be considered.

If a resolution cannot be found, Fine Gael will put the issue before a full meeting of Dublin City Council tomorrow.

“We hope that having listened to the weight of public opinion, including from the Dublin Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA) and Fionn Sherlock, the Enniskerry farmer, who supplies the animals every year, that the Lord Mayor can see sense on this decision,” Cllr Geoghegan said.

“At the very least, the general public are entitled to know the actual reasons for why school children will not get the opportunity to see live animals like they have every other year.

“The Lord Mayor has never stated that animal welfare is the motivation for her decision and yet other councillors from the Green Party are saying that is exactly why the ban has been put in place.

“The National Animal Rights Association, a group which believes wool should be banned, advocate for a boycott of Dublin Zoo and campaign to ban all forms of fishing, have expressed support for the Lord Mayor’s decision.

“The DSPCA, however, who are responsible for the animals’ care, view the live-animal crib as an event which promotes animal welfare amongst city children.

“The Green Party seem to be listening only to those who are a fringe-element of this debate, rather than acting in the interests of all the citizens of Dublin, and across the country, who come and enjoy this tradition every year,” Cllr Geoghegan said.

In recent days, the Fine Gael group has reached out to some ex-Lord Mayor’s on Dublin City Council and have been ‘assured of their support.’

The support of others is also being sought.

“I think this reflects the broadly held view by all elected members that cancelling the live-crib was a huge mistake and that’s why we have tabled our motion for Monday’s meeting in the hope that some form of compromise can be found,” Cllr Geoghegan said.