FG ministers told of council site extortion racket in 2016
‘There was no probe and no minister took action,’ the Dáil hears
GOVERNMENT ministers were told almost three years ago that attempts were being made to extort money from building firms, it has emerged.
Earlier this week, the High Court heard that three companies had been extorted for over €553,000 in protection money by two men in the area.
One of the men is the leader of a Dublin drugs gang, while the other is connected to three murdershte court heard. Former justice minister Frances Fitzgerald, former housing minister and current Tánaiste Simon Coveney, and Junior Minister Catherine Byrne were all emailed by Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh and Sinn Féin Councillor for Ballyfermot-Drimnagh, Daithí Doolan about these issues on December 24, 2016.
Others, including people involved in Dublin City Council and Cooperative Housing Ireland, were also sent the same email.
In it, Mr Ó Snodaigh said work had halted on the construction of social houses in the Cherry Orchard area ‘following a sustained campaign of intimidation of building workers and site security staff ’. One of the incidents cited was when a JCB was doused with petrol and set on fire while the driver was operating it.
Mr Ó Snodaigh said in the email: ‘It was clear that the intimidation Warning: Aengus Ó Snodaigh has been orchestrated by criminals who have vowed that no work on any Cherry Orchard site will go ahead unless they get the security contracts or receive monies from the builders.’
He also asked for an urgent meeting to discuss the matter.
In a follow-up email, also sent to the ministers, dated January 5, 2017, he said he believed matters ‘escalated’ and that if the demands were met ‘there will be contagion not only on other sites in Ballyfermot/Cherry Orchard but also on other social housing and other state-sponsored building and regeneration projects throughout the city’. He said that he had been made aware that ‘there have been serious approaches by the criminals involved, setting out the conditions regarding the restart of the works’, adding that resolving this issue would require ‘substantial Garda resources’.
Mr Ó Snodaigh’s party colleague Pearse Doherty brought up these emails in the Dáil yesterday during Leader’s Questions with Minister Coveney, who said the first time he heard about these allegations was on Wednesday and he was not made personally aware of them while he was housing minister.
‘It was raised and sent to my office and we didn’t respond to Aengus Ó Snodaigh, as far as I’m aware,’ he said. ‘I wasn’t aware of it and if I was, I would have raised this with the Minister of Justice. ‘I’m not saying emails weren’t sent into my office. I’m trying to understand what happened there.’
He said the issue was responded to by then justice minister Frances Fitzgerald because it pertained to criminal allegations.
He read out her reply to Mr Ó Snodaigh which read: ‘With reference to the suggestion that criminal elements may be attempting to extract protection money, I am advised that gardaí have not yet received complaints to that effect’. She said the gardaí were the most appropriate authority to deal with it, ‘especially since a Garda investigation is ongoing’. But Mr Doherty told the Dáil yesterday: ‘This was not investigated and no action was taken by any minister in response to attempts at extortion from this company… I want assurances from the Tánaiste that the House can be satisfied that this is not happening on any other building site.’
On Wednesday, Junior Minister Catherine Byrne defended her role in all of this, saying that the initial email had been brought to her attention on December 29, 2016, and she subsequently contacted Dublin City Council about it.
Since it was brought to the attention of gardaí in Clondalkin, her job on this was finished as it was being investigated, she said.
Last night, Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy said that there will be an independent investigation.
He said: ‘The issues raised in recent days on foot of a court case involving the Criminal Assets Bureau are very serious matters, and we are treating them as such in Government.
‘I will be appointing a person to carry out an independent investigation. Further steps will be taken as necessary on completion of the investigation. I will get to the bottom of this matter as quickly as possible.’
In a statement, DCC said it does not condone payment of protection money and no payments were made by the council to the individuals involved.
‘The particular site, along with other vacant development sites in the area, experienced severe antisocial behaviour over the years, which was a matter of serious concern for local residents and their elected representatives,’ it said.
They knew of the ‘extraordinary level of intimidation and criminal activity’ but added that at all times the gardai were fully appraised by council staff.
One of them is a drugs gang leader
JCB set on fire with driver still inside