The Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo) has pledged to investigate concerns raised about some €400,000 in gold bars that were stored in a vault belonging to the National Party.
The latest development comes after the party’s president, Justin Barrett, was ousted from his position – only for him to later deny that this had happened.
The right-wing party said in a statement that Mr Barrett was removed from his post in mid-July – before claims emerged that gold bars worth an estimated €400,000 had been removed from a party vault – “due to an overwhelming lack of confidence from active party members in Mr Barrett’s continued ability to lead the party”.
Mr Barrett denied that he had been removed and said it was not possible to do so under party rules.
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Meanwhile, Fine Gael councillor Emma Blain has written to Sipo asking them to investigate the source of the funding, urging the watchdog to appoint a public auditor given the National Party has never submitted accounts to Sipo.
In response, Sipo said that the concerns “will be followed up to ensure proper compliance with the requirements of the Electoral Acts”.
“All matters relating to possible noncompliance with the requirements of the Electoral Acts that are brought to the attention of the Commission, are followed up and enquiries made as appropriate.”
Sipo said that in some cases, if the Commission is of the opinion that an offence has occurred, “it may refer the matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions”.
Cllr Blain said that it was more important than ever that political parties comply with their obligations “in the current climate where disinformation is sweeping across Europe”.
Gardaí now believe only a fraction of the gold is owned by the National Party, with the rest owned by senior party members. A significant quantity is understood to be owned by the party’s purported new leader and former deputy leader James Reynolds, who owns a large farm in Co Longford.
The gold was kept in a commercial secure storage facility in the Dublin 4 area. It is not clear why the party members opted to store their gold together with the party’s gold. Mr Barrett previously said the party held the gold in case of a collapse in currency values.
Since Mr Barrett made a complaint to Donnybrook Garda station last week, all the gold, worth an estimated €400,000, has been secured in a safe location by gardaí. The individual party members will each have to prove their ownership of their share of the gold in order to reclaim it, sources said.
Party sources said Barrett enjoys little support within the party and that there is minimal opposition to the heave against him. Only a small handful of party members, including his wife, are standing by him.
The bulk of the party views him as unelectable due to his statements and decisions, including his posting of a quotation from Adolf Hitler last year.
His decision to go to the Garda to report the alleged gold theft alienated whatever support he may have had left, sources said.
Party membership has dwindled in recent months due to frustrations with Mr Barrett’s leadership and a lack of activity.
At its peak, the party had between one and two thousand members, although many of them were inactive. Now the active party membership is believed to be at most a few hundred, with one source putting the figure at about 50.
The party does not publish membership figures or annual accounts.
In a statement, the National Party said that Mr Barrett was removed from his post in mid-July, before claims emerged about the missing gold bars.
“Mr Barrett’s hands-off leadership style over the past number of years allowed the party to go to seed,” the statement said.
On his Telegram channel however, Mr Barrett described the party’s statement as “farcical”.
“I was and am the president of the National Party in law.”
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