Donohoe called on to offer detailed explanation on failure to properly disclose election expenses
Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe has apologised for any damaged caused by the matter. File Picture: Gareth Chaney/ Collins Photos
Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe has apologised for failing to properly disclose work done for his campaign in the 2016 General Election.
He has also recused himself from all matters relating to the Standards in Public Office (Sipo) and ethics legislation, pending the outcome of a complaint to that office about the campaign.
It comes as Mr Donohoe has been called on to offer a detailed explanation about the circumstances which led to the need for him to update his election expenses statement.
As revealed by the on Saturday, allegations that Mr Donohoe breached electoral rules during the 2016 General Election are being examined by Sipo.
At a hastily convened press conference on Sunday, Mr Donohoe confirmed that six men and two vehicles had been made available to his campaign for the erection and taking down of his posters in the Dublin Central constituency.
He said: “This assistance was understood to be on a voluntary basis. It was provided across four nights during the campaign period, before and after polling day. There were six individuals involved working in three pairs. Neither myself nor the campaign team paid the people involved, nor was I at that time aware they had been paid.”
Mr Donohoe said that the value of the use of a commercial vehicle was €140 and the value of the labour for the men involved was €957. He said he has made an updated submission to Sipo this weekend to take account of this information.
“Not only should I have asked did my campaign pay these people and the answer to that question is no, I should have asked were they paid. I should have asked that question. I didn't,” he said.
As the minister with responsibility for Sipo, he said to ensure that there is full transparency and independence in this matter, he was recusing himself from any policy decision on the progression of ethics legislation and any decision whatsoever with regard to Sipo until the completion of any process with regard to this matter.
“And I have written to the Secretary General of the department with this direction,” he said.
He said he had also spoken with the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan to explain the matter and apologise to them for it.
Mr Donohoe said he “deeply regretted” his failure to properly declare and the impact it is having on the Government and his party.
He said: “I always hold myself to the very highest of professional standards and I profoundly regret that this matter was not dealt with correctly in 2016. In light of the information that's now available to me, I've taken the steps to address the issue as comprehensively as I can.”
Responding, Sinn Féin’s Louise O’Reilly described Mr Donohoe’s explanation for breaching rules relating to donations and electoral expenses as "simply not credible".
She said: “Paschal Donohoe has provided an explanation for breaching rules governing donations and electoral expenses this evening that does not stack up and is simply not credible.”
“He stated that he became aware of this issue in November when the media queried the matter. At that point, he provided the media with false information stating that there was nothing to see here. We now know that was not true,” she added.
“It could not have taken Paschal Donohoe three months to contact a friend of his to ascertain the facts surrounding this matter,” she said.
Labour TD Ged Nash told RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne on Monday that the situation was more serious than Mr Donohoe adhering to the letter of the law, the spirit of the law was important too and ministers had to lead by example.
Mr Donohoe will have to take the situation “very seriously” and offer a full statement to the Dáil. The issue had not helped the public’s faith in politicians, he added.
Mr Nash said there were questions that needed to be answered such as how Mr Donohoe came up with the amount he conferred on the services provided for the purpose of his expenses.
He urged Mr Donohoe to come before the Dáil and offer a detailed explanation into the incident.
Sipo is examining a complaint made against Mr Donohoe that an engineering firm, called the Designer Group which is owned and run by Michael Stone, used two company vans and six employees to put up and later remove election posters for Dublin Central TD and minister in the February 2016 General Election.
The complaint alleges that the failure to declare these matters is in breach of the Electoral Act.
Under Sipo rules, the maximum aggregate donation from one source in one calendar year to an individual is limited to €1,000.
Corporate donations over €200 in value, whether in money or as a service, must register with Sipo as a corporate donor.
Donations exceeding €600 in aggregate value must include the name and address of the donor and records show that Mr Donohoe’s election expenses return for 2016 contains no mention of the Designer Group or Michael Stone.
Mr Stone is also chairperson of the North Inner City Action Group on a voluntary basis and Mr Donohoe said he had no role in that appointment.
He said this incident with most likely lead to a change in the rules saying it will “further accelerate the debate” around standards.
Asked about why it took him until now to clarify the situation when queries were lodged with his office as far back as November, Mr Donohoe said it took him some time to gather all the relevant information.
He said comments issued to media organisations to the effect that nothing untoward had happened were based on his assessment on the time which has since proven to be incorrect.
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