RTÉ exposé – Fine Gael and Labour opposed anti-corruption legislation

THE POLITICAL fall-out from Monday's RTÉ investigative programme into standards in public office is continuing with calls for the councillors involved to resign.

The programme showed a number of local councillors agreeing to lobby on behalf of business interests in return for favours or cash. Now questions have been raised as to why Fine Gael and Labour voted down a a Sinn Féin Bill six months ago to establish an Independent Planning Regulator.

In the RTÉ programme, Fine Gael Councillor Hugh McElvaney can be clearly heard asking an undercover reporter posing as a representative for a private wind-farm development company seeking support from the county council: “What can you do for me?”

He then told the reporter that “£10,000 would be a start, a nice little figure isn’t it?”

After agreeing to lobby on behalf of the fictitious company, McElvaney went on to say that if the wind farm project was a success he wanted “loads of money”. Footage showed him pretending to scoop piles of imaginary cash into his pockets.

While Fine Gael has attempted to distance itself from their long-standing councillor (who resigned from the party after he became aware of the programme's contents), the Fine Gael/Labour Government parties voted down a motion put forward by Sinn Féin's Brian Stanley TD on 12 May which would have forced the Government to legislate for recommendations contained in the Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments, aka 'The Mahon Tribunal'.

At the time, Fine Gael's Patrick O'Donovan claimed the motion which would have established an independent Planning Regulator was “a politicised attack on the Government for one reason or the other. Maybe it is to deflect attention from other matters.”

◼︎ Meanwhile, in Donegal, the Sinn Féin grouping on the council has called for the immediate resignation of Independent Councillor John O'Donnell who also featured on the RTÉ exposé. O'Donnell has accused RTÉ of entrapment.

Councillor Mick Quinn says Sinn Féin wants an emergency council meeting to discuss claims made by O'Donnell that he has influence over individuals on the council:

“Sinn Féin calls for John O'Donnell to resign as a public representative immediately. We believe that the behaviour exposed by RTÉ is shocking, unethical and has no place in Donegal County Council,” Quinn said.

Immediately after the programme aired, Fianna Fáil Councillor Joe Queenan resigned from the party. Footage in the programme appeared to show him offering to act as an intermediary for the fictitious company in return for investment in an agri-food business.

Fianna Fáil says it will “immediately commence an internal inquiry” into allegations against its members contained in the programme and described some of the actions depicted in the programme as “shocking and completely unacceptable”