Standards body refers files on politicians to gardaí

THE Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) referred 13 files to gardaí for alleged contraventions of the electoral acts, including files relating to former Clare TD and senator, Madeleine Taylor Quinn.

At the end of August and beginning of September, SIPO referred files to the gardaí in relation to the failure of nine candidates to furnish donation statements, as required under the act. The nine were Tom Harpur (Green Party, Wexford); Gino Kenny (non-party, Dublin Mid West); Thomas King (non-party, Galway West); Gerard Linehan (non-party, Cork South Central); Cllr Anne Marie Martin (Fine Gael, Dublin South Central); Mags Murray (Progressive Democrats, Dublin West); Jim Tallon (non-party, Wicklow); Raymond Kelly (non-party, Dublin South West); and Ms Taylor Quinn (Fine Gael, Clare).

Following that referral all but two of the candidates, Mr King and Mr Tallon, furnished the statutory document and gardai were informed.