Former chair of Meath County Council accused of failing to disclose conflict of interest

A former chair of Meath County Council has been accused of failing to disclose a conflict of interest in relation to lands on the outskirts of Navan, which increased in value from €500,000 to €4.2 million after they were rezoned. Former Fianna Fáil councillor Tommy Reilly appeared before an inquiry held by the ethics in public office watchdog to face four allegations that he breached legislation governing the conduct of elected representatives. The allegations, which were announced at the opening of the inquiry by the Standards in Public Office Commission on Friday, relate to claims that Mr Reilly failed to declare a conflict of interest at a number of council meetings between July 2016 and May 2017 over the fact that one or more of his sons had an interest in lands that were under consideration for being rezoned. Counsel for SIPO, Mark Curran BL, said the councillor’s failure to declare the nature of his sons’ interest in lands at Liscarton, Navan and his failure to withdraw from such meetings constituted breaches of the Local Government Act 2001. Mr Reilly, who lost his seat in the Navan electoral area in last year’s local elections when he was the outgoing chair of Meath County Council, was also accused of failing to disclose the nature of the interest of family members in the Liscarton site at a special planning meeting of the council on July 19th, 2017, although he did withdraw from the meeting on the basis that he had a conflict of interest. The former councillor was also accused of contravening the Local Government Act 2001 by failing to maintain proper standards of integrity, conduct and concern for the public interest in his function as a member of Meath County Council in his dealings on the Liscarton lands. A fourth allegation related to a “specified act” by claims he acted in a manner inconsistent with the proper performance and duties of a councillor or with the maintenance of public confidence in his performance. Three other allegations were withdrawn by SIPO at the start of the inquiry on foot of an application by counsel for Mr Reilly, Dáithí MacCárthaigh BL. The inquiry heard Mr Reilly claims he only became aware that his son, Ciaran, had an interest in the Liscarton site around two weeks before the special planning meeting on July 19th, 2017. However, Mr Curran told the hearing that it was clear that Ciaran Reilly had some involvement in July 2016 with the company that bought the lands, Royal Active Business Solutions. An earlier inquiry by Meath County Council found that the councillor had inadvertently broken ethics rules for not updating his register of interests. The rezoning of a 35-acre site at Liscarton resulted in its value increasing from the purchase price of €500,000 in August 2016 to €4.2 million after it was rezoned the following year. Another son, Tomás Reilly, also subsequently became a shareholder in the company which purchased the lands. The SIPO inquiry arose out of a complaint filed by the then chief executive of Meath County Council, Jackie Maguire, in March 2022. Ms Maguire told the hearing that councillors would be reminded at the start of meetings of their obligation to disclose any potential conflict of interest. When asked about the matter, she said Mr Reilly stated explicitly to her that he had no interest in the Liscarton lands. Ms Maguire said the councillor told her that he was unsure when and where he should have declared his knowledge about a “connected person” with the site. A record of their meeting shows Mr Reilly denied contacting any other councillor about the lands or trying to influence them. The inquiry heard that council records showed Mr Reilly attended a council meeting in December 2014 at which he requested an update about the Liscarton lands. Ireland Former UL President received over €215k in last 11... However, Mr MacCárthaigh interjected to state that it was actually a reference to a different site in the area. A consultant engineer, Eamon Collins, admitted to the inquiry that he had made a mistake in listing Tommy Reilly as the applicant for planning permission for the Liscarton lands after they had attended a pre-planning meeting of the council in March 2018. Mr Collins explained that his client was Ciaran Reilly. The hearing was adjourned and will resume on Monday, when it is expected to conclude.

View Original Article