A formal complaint has been made to the Independent Radio and Television Commission by Kilkenny County Council about an interview with a woman at the centre of a planning controversy.
In the interview on Radio Kilkenny last Monday, Ms Judith Ashton recounted how she was allocated a site by the council in Inistioge last year, although she did not want one and was not on the local authority housing list.
An Independent member of the council, Mr Dixie Doyle, had earlier offered to buy Ms Ashton's own site at Browns barn, also in Inistioge. She declined to sell the site and the county manager, Mr Paddy Donnelly, intervened in the discussions between the two.
She informed Mr Donnelly, following a meeting in his office, that she intended to build on her own site. Although she informed the council in subsequent discussions that she was not interested in being put on the housing list, she was allocated an alternative site anyway. The council later apologised.
In a statement, the county secretary, Mr Philip O'Neill, said the interview with Ms Ashton was recorded in advance and the council had asked for a tape "to prepare a full and proper reply", but the request was refused. He claimed the interview contained "gross inaccuracies and misrepresentations" and it was the council's intention to pursue its complaint to the IRTC "with all possible vigour".
Ms Sue Nunn, Radio Kilkenny's head of news and current affairs, said a council official was mistakenly identified in the interview as having attended the meeting with Ms Ashton in Mr Donnelly's office, but it was "nonsense" to suggest the interview contained gross inaccuracies. She claimed the council had still not addressed any of the issues raised in the interview.
