Report calls for Senator's suspension

SENATOR IVOR Callely intentionally misrepresented his normal place of residence for the purposes of claiming expenses, an Oireachtas committee has found.

The Committee on Members’ Interests of Seanad Éireann investigated Mr Callely’s €81,015 travel expenses and why he claimed for the 370km journey between Leinster House and a property in Kilcrohane, west Cork, instead of from a property in Clontarf, Dublin, over a two-year period.

The committee’s report, laid before the Seanad last night, found Mr Callely had misrepresented his normal place of residence for the purpose of claiming allowances, and was continuing to do so. This was inconsistent with the proper performance by him of the function of the office of a Senator and was of significant public importance, the report said.

It added Mr Callely should be suspended from the service of the Seanad for 20 days and have his salary withheld because the misrepresentation was done “intentionally and was of a grave nature”.

Mr Callely appeared before the committee twice, most recently on Tuesday, when he insisted he had acted honestly and in good faith.

The committee called on Mr Callely, “in conjunction with the relevant authorities”, to take account of its findings and “regularise and make good” his allowance affairs and cease misrepresenting his normal place of residence.

The report referred to Mr Callely’s “clear undertaking”, when he appeared before the committee for the first time on June 25th, that he would reimburse or repay any overpayment of allowances.

Mr Callely’s misrepresentation of his normal place of residence for the purpose of claiming allowances was done “intentionally”, the report said, and it was an act “of a serious and grave nature”. The Senator, who has resigned the Fianna Fáil whip, “did not act in good faith”, the report concluded.

The committee was chaired by Seanad Cathaoirleach Pat Moylan. Its other members were Dan Boyle (Green Party), Fine Gael leader in the Seanad Frances Fitzgerald, Senators Camillus Glynn and Denis O’Donovan (Fianna Fáil), Alex White (Labour) and Joe O’Toole (Ind).

The committee members set out a series of facts that they said linked Mr Callely to his family home in Clontarf rather than to Kilcrohane in Co Cork.

The investigation referred to the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995, as amended by the Standards in Public Office Act 2001. The report said the Seanad should censure Mr Callely and suspend him from the the Seanad for 20 days.

“Considering the committee has determined that in their opinion the specified act on the part of Senator Callely was done intentionally and was of a grave nature and considering it reasonable in all the circumstances, the committee would recommend that the Seanad also resolve to withhold from Senator Callely so much of the annual sum by way of salary payable to Senator Callely under the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) Act 1938 during the period of the 20 days of suspension.”

The facts the committee said linked Mr Callely to Clontarf rather than west Cork included, but were not limited to, the fact that Mr Callely was registered to vote in Dublin, used his family home in Clontarf for the purposes of correspondence with the Revenue Commissioners and had directed the Seanad to send post there in relation to his ministerial pension.

He maintained a constituency office in Dublin, which has regular weekly opening hours and at which he advertised on his website he was available to attend on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

His website also said he was continuing to work in the constituency of Dublin North Central and that he continued to live there.

The committee was “strengthened in its conclusion” by the fact Mr Callely entered “nil” expenses claims for September, October, November and December of the years 2008 and 2009 and had not cashed certain 2010 cheques.

In his first appearance before the committee on June 25th, Mr Callely said he felt entering “nil” claims for these months was a fair way of dealing with an “anomaly” in the expenses regime then in place, “which was inflexible for those who may find themselves in a normal place of residence separate from their family home”.

The committee also found the expenses rules would benefit from a clearer and more robust definition of “normal place of residence”.

Two complaints were received from members of the public by the Clerk of the Seanad on June 2nd, 2010.

To confirm the facts relating to the complaints made against Mr Callely, the committee obtained a copy of documents released to the Sunday Independentnewspaper under the Freedom of Information Act regarding his expenses claims.

Read the Seanad committee report into Ivor Callely’s expenses on irishtimes.com