A member of staff at Dundalk Town Council has been suspended and an internal investigation launched to examine rent collection irregularities in the local authority.
Councillors and Gardaí were notified about the investigation yesterday, which is specific to the 2009-2012 period.
A statement from council management said: “The Council has uncovered irregularities in relation to rent collection in the period 2009-2012 in a specific location in Dundalk. As a result of this a member of staff has been suspended, an internal investigation is underway and the Gardai have been notified. The Council is this morning assuring the relevant tenants they will not be adversely affected.”
A number of local councillors have expressed their surprise at the current developments with Sinn Féin’s Tomás Sharkey releasing a statement on the matter last night.
It read: “At this point, all Sinn Féin councillors are asking Council tenants to check your rent statements and look back over your receipts to make sure your payments have been properly accounted. As a team of councillors, we are going through our records of representations and will contact constituents who came to us with concerns about rent payments and balances.
“This is the second investigation ongoing in Louth Local Authorities. We have yet to receive the findings of an inquiry into house purchases from council housing staff. Two members of staff are suspended in relation to that investigation.
“The public need to have confidence in public services. High taxes are being paid by hard-pressed families. On a weekly basis families struggle to pay rent and bills. We all deserve to know that taxes and rents are collected fairly and spent wisely. Therefore we hope this investigation makes its findings quickly. We want to make sure that anybody affected by irregularities see things put right swiftly.
“We want the public to know that our door in Sinn Féin is always open. Our councillors are here to help anybody who comes to us.”
Talk of the Town 