CLLR MICHAEL Fahy will not quit his seat on Galway County Council despite a judge's call that he should stand down.
The Independent councillor made it clear he will appeal his one-year jail sentence for trying to obtain €7,000 from the council by false pretences.
Galway County Council will today seek to verify the court's decision, and Fahy's formal response to it, county secretary Breeda McDermott said.
Under Section 13 of the 2001 Local Government Act, a person is disqualified from sitting on a local authority if sentenced to more than six months in jail.
In addition, a person is disqualified if they fail to comply with a court order, or are convicted of fraud, or corrupt practice in dealings affecting a local authority.
The five-year disqualification also comes into force one month after the time allowed for appeal passes if a convicted representative does not go ahead with an appeal.
Fahy spent seven months in jail last year having been sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment and fined €75,000 after he was found guilty at Galway Circuit Criminal Court of misappropriating county council funds and attempted theft.
He returned to his seat on Galway County Council after his release last December when the original conviction was found to be unsafe.
He was given a hero's welcome at the time.
The 57-year-old resigned from Fianna Fáil when he was first charged with the offences.
The longest-serving member of the local authority, he has served continuously since 1979.
He stood down from Fianna Fáil in late 2004 after it emerged that he was at the centre of a Garda investigation into alleged misappropriation of funds.
While he said that he was doing so voluntarily at the time, it was clear the party's leadership were insistent he should leave.
Fianna Fáil is currently interviewing candidates to run on the party's ticket in next year's local election, but there is no chance of an invitation being issued to Fahy to return, party sources made clear last night.
The feeling on the ground in east Galway yesterday was that if Fahy stood again in the June local elections he would top the poll. There is also a belief in the area that he may seek a Dáil seat at the next general election.
During his first trial, Fahy said he was earning €60,000 a year as an insurance salesman, and he also had income from dry stock on his 50-acre farm.
In addition, he would have drawn approximately €50,000 in expenses and allowances from Galway County Council.
During his time in Castlerea Prison last year, Fahy was called on by a number of politicians, including Roscommon-based Senator Terry Leyden in search of his vote for the Senate elections.
Mr Leyden criticised the DPP's handling of the Fahy case, but he was subsequently forced to apologise to the Seanad on foot of a furious complaint from the office of the DPP.
