FF councillor pleads guilty to breaching zoning ethics legislation

A LEADING hotelier and Fianna Fáil town councillor has pleaded guilty to trying to influence a zoning decision relating to his family-owned property.

Killarney mayor Patrick O’Donoghue, 41, was charged at the Circuit Criminal Court in Tralee, with seeking to influence a decision of Killarney Town Council arising from a motion to rezone lands surrounding the Gleneagle Hotel, in Killarney, in 2006.

It is believed to be the first prosecution of a councillor for a breach of ethics legislation.

O’Donoghue is managing director of the Gleneagle Hotel group, a town councillor and is also a director of both Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland.

The charge of seeking to influence the decision of a local authority was brought under the ethics legislation — Section 177, 181 and 182 of the Local Government Act 2001.

Prosecuting counsel Tom Rice said he was asking to have O’Donoghue arraigned on one of two charges.

The charge was read out as follows: “Patrick O’Donoghue — being a member of Killarney Town Council and being a person with actual knowledge of his beneficial interest in certain lands at Killarney on dates between January1, 2006, and March 6, 2006, at Killarney — sought to influence a decision of Killarney Town Council in respect of a matter regarding the performance by that authority of its functions under the Planning Act 2000, namely the rezoning of those lands.”

O’Donoghue replied: “Guilty, judge.”

Judge Carroll Moran adjourned the matter, by consent, to June 30.

In May 2008, O’Donoghue was sent forward for trial from the District Court on two charges, one of which was that he failed to withdraw from the council meeting on the night of March 6, 2006, when the motion was considered.

However, Mr Rice said yesterday the charge of failing to withdraw from the meeting would not be proceeded with.

The motion before the March 2006 meeting was passed by a majority of councillors. It sought to rezone 20 acres, including a pitch and putt course, the Gleneagle and Brehon Hotels and the INEC to tourism and associated town centre facilities.

At the meeting, O’Donoghue had declared his interest in the matter and abstained from the discussion of the motion. He did not vote on the matter.

Council management strongly opposed town centre rezoning for the property, which is a mile from the centre of Killarney, and it has since been rezoned for tourism purposes in accordance with planners’ original advice.

An investigation by the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) was started and it found that O’Donoghue breached ethics laws. The case was then referred to the DPP.

SIPO said it was satisfied on the balance of probabilities that O’Donoghue sought to influence the decision of Killarney Town Council by seeking the support of coun-cillors in relation to the motion.