Former FF councillor accused of nine breaches of expenses rules

A former Fianna Fáil councillor has denied that negligent or reckless behaviour on his part led him to allegedly breach ethics in public office rules in relation to expenses claims.

Dessie Larkin, from Letterkenny, Co Donegal, told a Standards in Public Office Commission hearing the issues arose as he had not received a copy of a code of conduct councillors were supposed to adhere to under the Local Government Act 2001 at the time of the alleged offences in 2006. He said he was only furnished with a copy of the code, implemented in 2005, ahead of yesterday's hearing.

Diarmaid McGuiness, for the commission, said there were nine allegations in three tranches and that Mr Larkin admitted to no breaches. He said Mr Larkin received expenses for attending meetings and conferences that took place in different places at the same time; claimed expenses for a conference he did not attend; and received expenses for engagements in two locations that were not based on the shortest route between them.

The hearing was told Mr Larkin received expenses of €367.18 for attending a Border Midlands West Regional Assembly meeting in Ballaghadereen, Co Roscommon on June 23rd 2006 and €526.22 in costs for going to a conference in Mullingar, Co Westmeath on the same day.

The hearing was told Mr Larkin revised his account of the day when corresponding with the commission’s investigator as he recalled he had in fact travelled from Ballaghadereen on to Mullingar for the end of the conference rather than in the opposite direction as he initially thought.

“I accept I made a mistake,” he said.

Mr Larkin is also alleged to have claimed expenses of €639.58 for travelling to a tourism conference at the Marriott Druids Glen Hotel and Country Club, Co Wicklow on February 16th, 2006, but to have left before it began.

Seán Ó Longáin, for Mr Larkin, said the conference programme made clear it started the previous night and that Mr Larkin was present for registration, a speech by then minister for the environment Dick Roche and to examine tourism exhibits.

He said Mr Larkin wanted to speak to Mr Roche about funding for a skateboard park and left the following day before the morning session began in order to attend a function in Donegal. The council was charged a fee of €150 for the conference.

The final allegations relate to his attendance of another meeting of the assembly in Ballinlough, Co Roscommon on June 8th 2006 and then a conference on architecture in Westport, Co Mayo, the following day. He received expenses of €462.17 for attending the assembly meeting and €516 for attending the conference. The council was again charged a fee of €150 for the conference.

This matter was deemed a breach as he did not claim expenses for what would have been the shortest route between the venues. Mr Ó Longáin said this was because Mr Larkin went home as he had a sick child and travelled to Westport the next morning, rather than driving from Balinlough to Westport and staying overnight.

Mr McGuinness said he believed Mr Larkin wanted to make the “maximum claims” in the hope he got away with it. He said Mr Larkin should have been familiar with the code of conduct and it was “reckless” behaviour and “negligence” to claim otherwise. Mr Larkin denied this was the case.

Mr Ó Longáin said it was the job of the council’s ethics registrar to provide the code of conduct and this never happened. His client understood that all he had to do under the code was declare interests he held such as directorships.

The hearing was told that the minutes of a June 2005 council meeting attended by Mr Larkin mentioned the code of conduct again being made available to members.

Mr Ó Longáin said a person could “know of the existence of the kama sutra but not the contents”.

A councillor, Mr Ó Longáin said, was not an expert in finance or law but usually just “a reasonably diligent lay person”.

The panel hearing the case is chaired by Mr Justice Daniel O’Keeffe and will issue a decision in due course.