Every week our Government steals €210m from us and gives it to Sean FitzPatrick’s ruined bank, so that he and the rest of his ilk can carry on living the high life.

The NAMA scam was set up to assist them — those who passed on good tips to Bertie and co in the Galway tent of corruption.

Who shared in the millions of euro for the so-called advice that Cowen and Lenihan sought to pull this con on the people?

Why are the debt collectors not sent after the people who owe the money? Why is FitzPatrick still living in the lap of luxury?

When will someone go to prison?

James Rogers
Rosslare, Co Wexford

Irish Independent
Monday September 06 2010

Dear Mr. Sheridan,

Thank you for your email below concerning your complaint about former Minister of State, Ivor Callely TD.

We will be in contact with you in due
course.

I’ll be back in about three weeks.

I wish to formally lodge a complaint under the Ethics in Public Office Acts 1995.

The complaint concerns an article in the Sunday Tribune newspaper on the 22nd August 2010 which outlined the following expense claims made by then junior minister, Ivor Callely.

Claimed 5,000 miles per month in expenses during his term as junior minister at the Department of Health even though he lived less than three miles from his office.

Claimed for the 5,000 miles (the maximum allowed) even when he had been out of the country on government business, including March 2003 when he was away for at least eight days on trips to France, England, Malta and Slovakia.

Claimed the maximum allowed mileage for May 2003 even though he spent seven days in the US during that month.

Claimed for more than a dozen dining expenses at the Leinster House restaurant. These particular claims were questioned by the department but were eventually paid out.

I request that these claims be investigated to clarify what appear to be very serious inconsistencies.

I include below a full reproduction of the newspaper article

Yours sincerely

Anthony Sheridan

28th August 2010

Madam,

May I welcome Senator Callely to the elite ranks of the unbecoming?

Yours, etc,

Des O’Malley,

Merrion Road,
Dublin 4.

Over three weeks on and we’re still waiting for the Gardai to begin an investigation.

Here’s what’s happening.

The Gardai are delaying any investigation in the hope that the matter will be resolved politically.

The politicians are desperately trying to get rid of Callely before he further exposes just how corrupt the expenses system really is.

The Gardai will take no further action until they receive instructions from their political masters.

This is how things are done in a banana republic.

But let there be no doubt, it is Callely’s political stupidity, his complete failure to understand and play by the rules of the corrupt political system that makes him so dangerous.

His failure to resign, his failure to accept the findings of the Seanad Members Interests Committee, his failure to respond quickly and effectively to the ongoing series of media revelations all continue to expose the rotten political system.

This is why politicians, from all parties, are in such a panic over Callely, why they hate him so much. His political stupidity is unwittingly exposing them, and the rotten system they so efficiently operate for their own benefit, to public scrutiny.

Let’s just look a one aspect of the corrupt system that has been exposed – Did Callely commit a criminal act when he falsely claimed €81,000 in travel expenses?

The Committee for Members Interests found that Callely had deliberately misrepresented his normal place of residence for the purpose of claiming allowances.

This action resulted in a loss to the taxpayer of €81,000 but the entire body politic is of the opinion that this particular act by Callely is not a criminal offence.

As far as members of Seanad and Dail Eireann are concerned Callely is guilty of nothing more than breaking the internal code of their exclusive club or as the committee’s report put it:

Not acting in good faith having regard to all of the circumstances.

They clearly believe that the alleged submission of false claims by Callely for €81,000 for travel expenses is not a criminal act and can therefore be dealt with as an in house breach of the rules.

On the other hand they believe that the alleged submission of false claims by Callely for €3,000 for mobile phones is a criminal act and should be dealt with by the Guards.

Here’s what two senators had to say on the matter

Independent senator Joe O’Toole (Marian Finucane Show, Sunday 22nd August).

It’s very important to know that a committee of the Seanad or of politicians should never be allowed, in a democracy, to investigate crimes…crimes should always be the business of the Gardai…if somebody is found to have committed a crime or is suspected to have committed a crime, that’s a matter for the Gardai.

It would be a banana republic if you put senators and TDs in charge of investigating a colleague with the power to penalties above and beyond what’s there.

This quote is slightly out of context but it’s clear that Senator O’Toole does not believe the committee was investigating a crime, he does not believe that Callely committed a criminal act when he falsely claimed €81,000 in travel expenses.

He does, apparently, believe that the alleged submission of a false claim by Callely for €3,000 for mobile phones is probably a criminal act and is therefore a matter for the Guards.

Independent senator Ronan Mullen’s reaction to the alleged false travel expenses claim by Callely for €81,000:

I find it hard to see where it could be made out that there was a criminal act per se. A person has to be judged according to the law as it stood at the time they did what they did.

During a recent RTE interview regarding the alleged false expenses claim by Callely for €3,000 for mobile phones Mullen said:

But we can park, at least, the criminal side of it and say let the proper authorities do their work and hopefully they will do their work and investigate it and let’s not do anything here to impede that.

Again, it’s clear that Mullen does not believe that Callely committed a criminal act when he falsely claimed €81,000 in travel expenses but does believe that the alleged submission of a false claim by Callely for €3,000 for mobile phones is probably a criminal act and is therefore a matter for the Guards.

The law on the matter is crystal clear (My emphasis).

Theft and Fraud Offences Act 2001 Section 10 (False accounting).

A person is guilty of an offence if he or she dishonestly, with the intention of making a gain for himself or herself or another, or of causing loss to another

(a) Destroys, defaces, conceals or falsifies any account or any document made or required for any accounting purpose,

(b) fails to make or complete any account or any such document,

or

c) in furnishing information for any purpose produces or makes use of any account, or any such document, which to his or her knowledge is or may be misleading, false or deceptive in a material particular.

(2) For the purposes of this section a person shall be treated as falsifying an account or other document if he or she—

(a) makes or concurs in making therein an entry which is or may be misleading, false or deceptive in a material particular, or

b) omits or concurs in omitting a material particular there from

(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on conviction on indictment to a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or both.

In a real democracy like the UK, for example, Senator Callely would be under police investigation.

Tory Peer, Paul White known as Lord Hanningfield is under police investigation for allegedly dishonestly submitting claims for expenses to which he knew he was not entitled.

It’s worth reproducing the UK law for comparison purposes (My emphasis).

section 17 of the Theft Act 1968

17. False accounting.

(1) Where a person dishonestly, with a view to gain for himself or another or with intent to cause loss to another,

(a) destroys, defaces, conceals or falsifies any account or any record or document made or required for any accounting purpose;

or

(b) in furnishing information for any purpose produces or makes use of any account, or any such record or document as aforesaid, which to his knowledge is or may be misleading, false or deceptive in a material particular; he shall, on conviction on indictment, be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years.

(2) For purposes of this section a person who makes or concurs in making in an account or other document an entry which is or may be misleading, false or deceptive in a material particular, or who omits or concurs in omitting a material particular from an account or other document, is to be treated as falsifying the account or document.

The law regarding the allegations in both jurisdictions is practically identical. In the UK it’s a matter for the police and the courts, in Ireland it’s a political matter.

In other words, it’s the difference between an accountable democracy and a banana republic.

The bottom line is simple: The corrupt political system in Ireland cannot allow a serious police investigation into political expenses because to do so would risk exposing the whole rotten system.

Copy to:

Seanad Committee for Members Interests

I’m just glad that part of it is over…I’m not going to be talking again about Ivor Callely…somebody should tell him to just let go of this issue, just let go…it should just end now, it’s a sorry saga and it would be better it would be over…

listen, I just don’t want to keep talking about him, it’s just all so awful…he should just put up his hands and say; hey folks, I’m off and that’s what he should do…

I don’t want to particularly remember (if anything like this happened before), I just want the matter to go away and to finish up, I just think it’s bad news for everyone…

I hate going on and on and on about him because there’s nothing to go on about, the matter is over and done with…

he’s not going to (cop himself on), he’s going to pursue it beyond the boundaries of boredom, just go away…I’m sorry for him that he’s putting himself through this silliness

When asked about Cowen’s illegal smoking O’Rourke responded:

Ah spare me for Christ’s sake.

Poor Mary…

Curious, I would have thought that Callely’s behaviour was perfectly in keeping with the gombeen/cute hoor culture of Fianna Fail.

Haughey, De Valera, Burke, Flynn, Ahern, O’Donoghue, Lawlor, Collins, Foley, Lenihan (Snr.), O’Dea, the list goes on and on.

I was asked to put my queries in writing and received answers last Friday.

Two of the more important questions/answers are reproduced below (My emphasis).

Question 1

The Committee found that Senator Callely was continuing to commit the offence of misrepresenting his place of residence in West Cork.

Who is responsible for rectifying this matter and is the matter being dealt with?

Answer

The Committee determined [paragraph 3 page 8 of the Select Committee on Members' Interests of Seanad Eireann Report, dated 14th July 2010 ] that it is a matter for Senator Callely, in conjunction with the relevant authorities, to take account of the findings of its report and to regularise and make good his allowance affairs and to cease to misrepresent his normal place of residence.

On foot of that determination the Houses of the Oireachtas Service has written to Senator Callely informing him as to how the resolution of Seanad Eireann, of the same date, suspending him from the service of the House and withholding his salary for that period is being implemented by the Service and that his travel and accommodation expenses will not recommence unless and until the necessary declaration as to his normal place of residence has been submitted by him.

Question 2

It emerged during the course of the investigation that Senator Callely was claiming an overnight allowance while staying in his family home. When he was questioned about this matter he replied.

I comply with the regulations.

and

My claims, I understand, meet the definition of the Department of Finance.

Is Senator Callely correct in his claim that he is complying with the regulations and do his claims meet the definition of the Department of Finance?

Answer

Section 1 of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members ) Act 1962 as amended by the Oireachtas (Miscellaneous Provisions) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act 1996 and the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial, Parliamentary, Judicial and Court office Act 1998 provides that “where a Member…..makes an overnight stay in the Dublin area…..the Member may …be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas an overnight allowance in respect of accommodation in the amount sanctioned by the Minister for Finance…”

There is no express legal prohibition on a Member making such an overnight stay in his family home.

There we have it in black and white. Irish politicians can claim overnight expenses while staying in the family home.

Given the low level of honesty within the body politic it is reasonable to assume that the vast bulk of politicians do, in fact, make this claim.