Limerick mayor urged to step aside during Garda crash probe
Sinn Féin councillor Maurice Quinlivan urged the Fianna Fáil mayor to hand over his chain of office while the matter is investigated.
In a statement, the mayor confirmed he approached gardaí about the status of a car accident he had been involved in before the mayoral election, but denied he tried to influence the probe.
There has been growing pressure on the city mayor from across the political divide, including from party leader Micheál Martin, who asked Mr O’Dea to make a fuller statement about all the circumstances of last December’s accident.
No collision occurred but Mr O’Dea’s car overturned after he reportedly swerved to avoid another vehicle.
Mr Quinlivan welcomed the mayor’s statement yesterday but said the matter had not yet been “put to bed”. He said: “I think he should step aside and hand over his duties of mayor to his deputy Cllr Shane Clifford, whilst the Garda investigation is ongoing.”
The leader of Sinn Féin on Limerick and City County Council said he was not calling for Mr O’Dea’s resignation but he does want him to step aside while the Garda investigation is continuing.
Mr Quinlivan has also called for the outcome of the Garda investigation to be made public. “People have a deep concern as to why there was no prosecution and I emphasise there is a presumption of innocence here, the mayor [Mr O’Dea] might have done nothing wrong, and that’s why the Garda investigation is crucially important and it needs to be done as fast as possible and as thorough as possible, and the results of that need to be published because people’s confidence in the gardaí is under threat,” he continued.
In his latest statement on the matter, Mr O’Dea confirmed he enquired about the status of the accident before he was elected metropolitan mayor last June.
“Before I was elected mayor of the Metropolitan District of Limerick I enquired about the status of the accident. I understood that there would be no proceedings in relation to this matter,” he said.
In his original statement, Mr O’Dea said he was informed in early May 2015 there would be no action against him in respect of the car accident and said he considered the matter closed.
However his original statement did not explain the exact nature of the crash or the Garda involvement. Nor did it explain the manner in which he was informed there would be no action against him.
In his statement, issued to the Limerick Leader newspaper on Wednesday, Mr O’Dea said he very much regretted the incident and unreservedly apologised for any controversy caused.
“In response to calls to make a clarifying statement, I want to confirm that I was involved in a road traffic accident in December 2014. I was driving my own car and was alone when I had to swerve to avoid another car. My car overturned and the gardaí and fire brigade attended the scene. No one was injured in this accident apart from myself,” he stated.
Mr O’Dea added : “I want to reiterate and emphasise that I co-operated fully with the gardaí at all times and that I made no effort to influence the gardaí whatsoever.
“I now understand an internal Garda investigation is ongoing and this should be allowed to be completed.
“I very much regret the incident and unreservedly apologise for any controversy caused.”
An internal Garda inquiry is under way into why no summons or court proceedings followed the accident.
A meeting of the Fianna Fáil members of Limerick City and County Council took place on Wednesday to discuss the controversy.
Its understood councillors were informed Mr O’Dea would not be considering his position.
