Garda chief leads Callely probe

THE escalating controversy surrounding Ivor Callely’s expenses claims took a dramatic turn last night as Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy intervened personally in the affair.

As political pressure intensified on the embattled senator to quit the upper house, Commissioner Murphy wrote to the clerk of the Seanad after Green TD Paul Gogarty lodged an official complaint with gardaí urging them to investigate the allegations swirling around Mr Callely.

The move came as the Seanad’s watchdog ethics committee announced it would also probe allegations that Mr Callely forged invoices to claim almost €3,000 for phone kits when he was a junior minister in 2007.

A Garda spokesperson said the commissioner had written to the Seanad clerk seeking clarification of “certain matters” regarding the Callely affair.

“An Garda Síochána has received a number of requests seeking Garda investigations into allegations recently published in the media concerning a named member of Seanad Éireann, one of these requests emanated from a member of Dáil Éireann.

“These matters are currently being considered in the context of what action is required by Garda Síochána.

“In that regard, the Garda Commissioner has written to the clerk of Seanad Éireann seeking clarification of certain matters,” said the spokesperson.

Ministers moved to distance the Government from Mr Callely, who resigned the Fianna Fáil whip in June, by insisting the senator needed to explain himself.

“On the basis of the evidence we’ve seen he has a case to answer and it’s a pretty serious case and he should set about doing that,” said Transport Minister Noel Dempsey.

Fellow minister Conor Lenihan said Mr Callely must address the situation urgently.

Mr Callely has also been suspended as a Fianna Fáil member while an internal investigation into his behaviour is carried out by a five-person team.

Mr Gogarty took a swipe at his party’s partners in Government after he lodged his complaint against Mr Callely with the gardaí, saying the move should have come from within Fianna Fáil.

Mr Gogarty said he had gone to Lucan Garda station, west Dublin, to file the complaint as the public was “outraged” by the allegations.

The latest expenses row to engulf Mr Callely erupted after it emerged he claimed thousands of euro in expenses for the purchase of mobile phone kits from a company that had ceased trading years earlier.

Mr Callely was given a 20-day suspension from the Seanad last month as punishment for “intentionally misrepresenting” his West Cork holiday home as his main residence in order to claim up to €81,000 in travel allowances.

The same Committee on Members’ Interests that found against him last month will meet again on August 31 to see if the latest allegations warrant a fresh probe under standards in public office legislation.