Louth’s TDs and senators earn more than €3.4 million in just over three years

Gerry Adams was the constituency’s top earner

Louth’s TDs and senators have taken home more than €3.4 million in pay and expenses in less than three-and-a-half years.

That’s according to a new report from RTÉ’s Investigation Unit, which has detailed the pay and expenses each TD and senator has taken home between the last General Election in March 2011 and the end of July 2014 – a period of three years and four months.

In total the country’s 166 TDs took home €78 million in that period, an average of around €470,000 each with the bill for Louth’s TDs coming in at more than €2.4m.

There were more than 75 different politicians who were paid in excess of €500,000 each in salary, expenses and other payments in just over three years in office though with three of the five TDs in Louth receiving such a sum.

The highest earner was Sinn Féin president, Gerry Adams, who received €517,976.64. Next was Fine Gael’s Peter Fitzpatrick, who received €511,838.15, followed by Labour’s Ged Nash on €503,741.51.

Also above the national average was Fianna Fáil’s Seamus Kirk on €486,298.57, while bottom of the pile locally was Fine Gael’s Fergus O’Dowd on €389,961.56.

The three local senators in the area also received €971,927.45 in payments during the same period.

Labour’s Mary Moran was the top earner on €327,540.13, followed by the Fine Gael pairing of Terry Brennan (€323,643.67) and Jim D’Arcy (€320,743.65).

A full breakdown of their payments year by year can be found here.

Adams confirms he handed over list of alleged abusers to Gardaí

Gerry Adams

Local TD Gerry Adams has confirmed that he met with Gardaí over a list of sex abusers which was posted through his letter box.

The Sinn Fein leader confirmed in an interview with The Irish Mirror today that he had met the relevant authorities over the dossier, which contained names of alleged abusers.

The Louth TD also revealed in an exclusive chat with Sarah Bardon:

• How his party are ready to be in Government
• SF will not enter a coalition with Fine Gael or Fianna Fail
• He would welcome dissenting voices and denied the party was a “cult”
• His party will field up to 50 candidates in next year’s General Election
• He will lead them into the next poll but hinted that may be his last
• He will introduce a wealth tax when in power, and
• This Government is the worst there has ever been for defending or implementing the Good Friday Agreement.

In a wide-ranging interview, Mr Adams said his party are ready to govern but admitted there was a huge challenge in encouraging people to vote for them.

Mr Adams spent most of last year battling claims that he had helped to cover up the abuse of Mairia Cahill, a woman who was sexually abused by a member of the IRA when she was 16.

He claimed that his critics used this as a stick to beat him with but added he was co-operating with the investigation.

“That is my responsibility as a public representative.

“When I get information, I go to the gardai and co-operate with the gardai. I have met with the gardai. I don’t like the term interviewed, it is not just a case of handing over information.”

You can read the full interview with Deputy Adams here.

Two Gardaí assigned to Dundalk to help crack down on social welfare fraud

Two Gardaí this week began working undercover in Dundalk alongside the Special Investigations Unit of the Department of Social Protection to help crack down on welfare cheats.

They are two of 20 around the country who will investigate allegations and initiate investigations into social welfare fraud whereby people are claiming benefits such as the dole under false pretenses.

The secondment of the 20 Gardaí is for a period of 12 months, subject to review. They have been appointed with powers under the Social Welfare Acts which permit them to work with officers from the Department’s Special Investigation Unit.

The Gardaí will work closely with other compliance and fraud investigation agencies to ensure that social welfare abuse is comprehensively deterred and detected. This interagency activity is a key element to assist in fraud investigation and the shadow/hidden economy will be a key priority for joint investigations. They will be involved in preparing and collating suitable evidence to enable a deciding officer to review an entitlement to social welfare payment and to use, in certain circumstances, in legal proceedings.

In serious cases of identity fraud or multiple claiming of allowances the Gardaí assigned to the Department will be actively engaged in the detection and prosecution of these

The unit is said to have generated fraud and control savings of €64.5 million to date this year, of which €23 million is recoverable overpayments.

Garda Commissioner, Nóirín O’Sullivan said: “This initiative will help combat social welfare fraud, and highlights the skills, knowledge and experience Gardaí bring to tackling such issues. It also demonstrates how An Garda Síochána works in close co-operation with other State agencies for the benefit of the country and its people.”

Police Ombudsman to investigate claims of police collusion in Dundalk bombing

The scene on Crowe Street after the Dundalk bombing in December 1975

The Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland is to investigate claims police in Northern Ireland were involved in a 1975 bomb in Dundalk.

Two men in their 60s died when a loyalist paramilitary car bomb exploded outside a pub in the town on 19 December 1975.

The campaign group, Justice for the Forgotten, has alleged collusion by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC).

The ombudsman, Dr Michael Maguire, will examine the original RUC investigation.

The bombing outside Kay’s Tavern on Crowe Street – now the Crowe’s Nest – was blamed on the Red Hand Commando, a loyalist paramilitary group affiliated to the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).

Hugh Watters, 60, died on the day of the bombing and 61-year-old Jack Rooney died from his injuries three days later.

The attack took place outside the the RUC’s jurisdiction, but Margaret Urwin from Justice for the Forgotten has alleged that everything that led up to the bombing, with the exception of planting the device, happened in Northern Ireland.

Ms Urwin said that her campaign group submitted a complaint to the ombudsman claiming that the RUC did not carry out a proper investigation and also, that some RUC officers were involved “in the planning and planting of the bomb”.

Justice for the Forgotten was set up 18 years ago to campaign on behalf of relatives of victims of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 17 May 1974.

Their loved ones died in one of the worst days of the Troubles, when four car bombs exploded within 90 minutes in the Irish capital and in Monaghan town.

A total of 34 people were killed and the death toll from both areas represented the greatest loss of life in a single day of the Troubles.

Ms Urwin said the Dundalk explosion is the third bomb attack in the Republic of Ireland that they have successfully submitted to the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland for investigation.

The group’s other two complaints relate to allegations of RUC collusion in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings and a complaint about the RUC’s handling of an attempted UVF pub bombing in central Dublin in 1994.

Members of the loyalist group attempted to carry a bomb into the Widow Scallan’s pub in Dublin’s Pearse Street on 21 May 1994, but were challenged by a doorman.

The UVF gang shot the doorman and he died later in hospital.

A spokesman for the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland said the Dundalk bomb complaint and the Dublin and Monaghan bombings complaint would be investigated as part of the ‘Glenanne series’ of attacks.

The name refers to an alleged UVF gang based at a farm at Glenanne, County Armagh. The gang has been accused of carrying out 120 murders on both sides of the Irish border during the early 1970s.

The ombudsman’s spokesman said the investigation “will begin in the latter stages of 2014”.

He added that no date has yet been set for the Widow Scallan’s pub attack investigation.

Source: BBC News

Dundalk businessman ordered to pay €20,000 over tax returns

A local businessman who is facing a tax demand for more than €10m from the Criminal Assets Bureau has been ordered to pay €20,000 for failing to make tax returns over four years.

William Marks, of Sandymount, Blackrock, Dundalk, yesterday confirmed guilty pleas for not making income tax returns to the Revenue Commissioners for 2002 to 2005.

A revenue official attached to CAB told Dundalk Circuit Court that arising out of an investigation he was satisfied that no such returns were filed.

The Revenue officer, identified as ‘Bureau officer 31’, agreed with prosecution counsel Shane Costello that there is ‘a divergence’ between the assessment raised by Revenue and the returns filed by the accused.

Mr Marks, also known as Liam, was fined €5,000 on each of the four offences after the court heard that he had been a major fundraiser for Louth GAA and the Sri Lankan Tsunami charity. A character reference from ex-Irish Greyhound Board chairman Paschal Taggart was handed into court.

Paul Williams of The Irish Independent has reported today that the charges arose from a complex investigation by the CAB, which was not referred to in court yesterday.

Source: Irish Independent

Man arrested in Dundalk to be charged in connection with fatal shooting

Gardaí in Dublin say they have charged a man in connection with a fatal shooting in Tallaght five years ago.

The 29-year-old man was arrested in Dundalk yesterday and will appear in court in Dublin this evening.

Seamus O’Byrne, 27, was shot dead in March 2009 a number of times by a lone gunman and died at the scene at Tymon North Park in Tallaght.

This is the third person to be charged in connection with this investigation.

Dundalk Town Council criticised by Local Government Auditor

Town Clerk Frank Pentony

Dundalk Town Council has come in for criticism from a Local Government Auditor for not informing it of its recent internal rent arrears investigation.

The auditor said they first heard news of the investigation through the media.

Last month it was revealed that six tenants were affected, with the outcome of the review set to be revealed shortly.

Expressing disappointment at not being informed about the matter considering she was present in the council at the time, the auditor said it would be reviewed again in the 2013 audit.

Town Clerk Frank Pentony told last night’s monthly meeting of the local authority that the matter had only come to light as the 2012 audit was being completed and said that, at that point, the council did not know whether they had a case to answer.

Following last night’s meeting, councillors were briefed in private on the matter by council staff.

It has since emerged that a formal complaint has been made to Gardaí in Dundalk as part of the rent arrears investigation.

Gardaí investigating hoax call to paramedics in Dundalk

Gardaí are investigating a hoax call to paramedics that took place in Dundalk on April 1^st.

The HSE has confirmed that an emergency call was made claiming that a 14-year-old was in labour.

When paramedics arrived on the scene, however, it emerged that it was the family dog that was in labour after giving birth to pups.

An ambulance and a rapid response car responded to the call on April Fool’s Day with the HSE now referring it to gardaí for investigation.

Four weeks free rent for those affected by rent controversy in Dundalk

Dundalk Town Council are giving those affected by the recent rent controversy four week’s free rent

Tenants affected by the recent rent controversy in Dundalk are set to be given four week’s free rent by Dundalk Town Council.

The local authority has also committed to painting the front of the homes of those affected as a means of making up for the hassle of the last few weeks. No idea of cost has been given to estimate how much the waiving of a month’s rent and painting will cost.

Last month it emerged that some tenants in the town were being told they were in arrears on the rent, despite them having receipts to show they were fully paid up.

An investigation was subsequently launched by Dundalk Town Council, with a member of staff suspended pending its outcome.

Staff member at Dundalk Town Council suspended as investigation is launched into rent collection irregularities

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.”