‘Galling’: Ex-FF senator fails to show income proof – again
A COURT application by a senator’s legal team has been labelled ‘galling’, after the politician yet again failed to provide a detailed statement of his income.
Independent senator Brian Ó Domhnaill was due to provide Falcarragh District Court in Co. Donegal with the statement on foot of an instalment order.
The order arises out of a ‘six-figure’ sum owed by the former Fianna Fáil senator, following a High Court case taken by the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo). Judge Paul Kelly ordered the statement from Senator Ó Domhnaill a month ago.
However, solicitor Rory O’Brien, on behalf of Goodbody Solicitors, said he had not heard from Senator Ó Domhnaill’s legal representatives, Sheehan and Company.
He said: ‘On March 5, we wrote to them and no response has been received, and now we are in the court’s hands. An officer from the Standards in Public Office has travelled to court for the second time.’
Solicitor Kieran O’Gorman, acting for Sheehan and Co, said they had not been in a position to get the relevant documentation on Senator Ó Domhnaill’s income, and were applying for a short adjournment.
However, Mr O’Brien replied: ‘This application is quite galling. A very specific direction was given on a previous occasion. A significant sixfigure sum is owed.’
The case arose following two separate applications by Sipo, after High Court orders for costs were given in a previous case. Sipo had found that Senator Ó Domhnaill wrongly claimed expenses of around €2,000 when he was a Fianna Fáil Donegal county councillor during 2006 and 2007, on foot of an anonymous complaint to Donegal County Council.
The State ethics watchdog found Mr Ó Domhnaill intentionally broke ethics legislation, after he claimed expenses from two separate bodies for the same trip.
It cost Sipo more than €360,000 to investigate the matter, in which Senator Ó Domhnaill denied any wrongdoing.
Judge Kelly said he was allowing for one further adjournment.
He adjourned the case until May 15 with peremptory against Senator Ó Domhnaill – meaning it must be held on that date.
‘A six-figure sum is owed’