“It has come to my attention that many of you have been in receipt of an unofficial letter in the past number of days. The letter asking you to sign a petition to call for a Special Convention has not been approved by the Officers of the union. That it is not sent to all members of the union calls into question its democratic nature.
“The letter is undoubtedly misleading. The supreme governing body “Convention“ did indeed have sight of the motion and a majority voted not to allow it on the clár. Even this is not truly reflective of debate on the motion. The same motion was defeated at the Central Executive Council (CEC) on April 1st. It was also defeated at Standing Committee on April 19th and Standing Committee refused to sponsor it by bringing it to Steering Committee the same evening.
“The next day a motion to suspend Standing Orders for the second time and disrupt the business of Convention for the third day running was made. I, as President and Presiding Officer, allowed the motion on to the floor, though I could have denied the request. The motion to suspend Standing Orders and allow the substantive motion to be debated was defeated by a majority at Convention, the supreme governing body. It would be disingenuous to suggest otherwise.
“The motion attempts to overturn a national ballot where a majority of 5% on a 75% turnout rejected the November proposals. This confirmed earlier rejections of Junior Cycle reform and the Lansdowne Road Agreement. I believe that the attempt albeit within the rules to bring the motion to a Special Convention is a denial of the sovereign right of the members in a ballot.
“For these reasons I urge you to respect the mandate of the ballot. Otherwise, how can we ever again accept or reject an offer in a ballot of members.”
