Inquiry senator linked to Callely home

A FIANNA Fáil senator tasked with investigating Ivor Callely’s expenses has confirmed that his law firm acted for Mr Callely in dealings relating to the West Cork home at the centre of the controversy.

Mr Callely was last night suspended from the Seanad for 20 days without pay after a cross-party committee found he had intentionally misrepresented his normal place of residence to claim allowances.

The sanction fell short of the maximum 30-day suspension that could have been imposed.

Denis O’Donovan was one of the Fianna Fáil senators who sat on the committee, which investigated why Mr Callely used the West Cork residence in Kilcrohane to claim travel-related expenses rather than his family home in Clontarf, Dublin. But Mr O’Donovan did not inform the committee that his law firm represented the Callelys in the 1990s in dealings relating to Kilcrohane.

Official records obtained by the Irish Examiner show that Mr O’Donovan’s firm — O’Donovan Murphy & Co — obtained a land certificate for Mr Callely and his wife in the mid-1990s.

Land Registry records show that Ivor and Jennifer Callely were registered as the owners of Kilcrohane on August 31, 1992. Two years later, on June 17, 1994, a land certificate for Kilcrohane was issued to O’Donovan Murphy & Co, acting on behalf of the Callelys.

Mr O’Donovan said last night he could not recall the exact work his firm had conducted for Mr Callely, as he had not handled it. He said he had never personally represented Mr Callely or given him legal advice.

“I never personally met Ivor inside in my office as a solicitor-client relationship,” Mr O’Donovan said, explaining that a colleague at the firm had dealt with Mr Callely.

“I never actually advised him on anything,” he said.

Mr O’Donovan also said Mr Callely had parted ways with the firm some years ago, having decided to change his solicitors.

As a result of both this and the fact that he personally had not advised Mr Callely, Mr O’Donovan saw no need to inform the Seanad committee of the connection. Asked if he had informed the committee, Mr O’Donovan replied: “No, because I felt it had no impact on the current situation.”

Mr O’Donovan also pointed out he has been a politician on a full-time basis since 1997 and practised little law in that period.

Meanwhile, the Land Registry records show that full ownership of Kilcrohane was put in Jennifer Callely’s name on April 12 this year.

This is in keeping with Mr Callely’s statement to the committee earlier this week that he didn’t own the house, but had a legal agreement giving him a “right to reside” there.

Mr O’Donovan made clear last night that his firm hadn’t acted in any recent dealings for Mr Callely, stressing once more that Mr Callely had changed solicitors several years ago.

Mr Callely claimed €81,000 in travel-related expenses since his appointment to the Seanad in 2007. The committee made clear in its report that it expected Mr Callely to reimburse “any overpayment of allowances”.