Former Fianna Fáil council chairman 'recklessly' breached ethics rules — Sipo

Standards In Public Office Commission says he attended a rezoning meeting about land in which his son had an interest

Former Meath county councillor Tommy Reilly. Picture: John Quirke 

A former cathaoirleach of Meath County Council "recklessly" breached ethics rules, the Standards In Public Office Commission (Sipo) has found.

A complaint against former Fianna Fáil Meath county councillor Tommy Reilly led to a two-day hearing which centered on a complaint that Mr Reilly's son Ciarán Reilly, had an interest in lands at Liscarton, Navan, Co Meath at a time when Tommy Reilly attended meetings in relation to their rezoning.

The lands had been bought for €500,000 in 2016 and, after being rezoned to allow for housing development, went on the market for €4.2m, but have not been sold.

During the hearings, it was put to Ciarán Reilly that the value of the lands had gone from the sum of €500,000 for which they were acquired to something in the region of €4.2m.

The Sipo report found that an initial statement from Ciarán Reilly had been changed regarding the circumstances of a “general parental discussion” with his father regarding ”consideration of the transaction”. The report states: 

In his oral evidence, on oath, Mr Ciarán Reilly stated that, on reflection, his written statement was incorrect. 

"Mr Ciarán Reilly stated that he did not discuss the Liscarton lands with his father until the end of June or early July 2017, when he inquired with his father about the proposed re-zoning of the Liscarton lands and the development plan process. He said that his father responded that it was too late to make submissions on the variation."

Mr Reilly declared a conflict

Mr Reilly, who had told Sipo that he had "never set foot" on the lands, believed he had met his obligations by declaring a conflict and absenting himself from a special planning meeting of the full council on July 19, 2017.

Mr Reilly was asked why he had not updated his register of interests or declared the conflict in writing and "responded that in 30 years he had never seen anyone do that at a meeting and he had not been aware that anyone had previously been asked why they needed to withdraw from a meeting, by council officials or anyone else".

He said that it was the first time he had had cause to withdraw from a meeting due to a conflict of interest. 

He also pointed to the fact that he had later written to the council’s ethics registrar, by handwritten letter dated September 9, 2020 — three years after the meeting — disclosing that the conflict arose from the fact that his son’s company, RABS, had an interest in the Liscarton lands.

'Spirit but not the letter' of ethical framework

The report goes on to say that the former chief executive of the council and then cathaoirleach had found that Mr Reilly had adhered "with the spirit but not the letter” of the Ethical Framework for Councillors and that Tommy Reilly had “inadvertently breached” that Framework, but that “he believed in good faith that he had met his statutory and ethical obligations by disclosing a conflict of interest and absenting himself from the meeting”.

However, Sipo disagreed, saying Mr Reilly "should have known better" and that these were "serious, as opposed to minor, matters".

"The Commission does not consider that to be a valid excuse for failing to comply with this important statutory obligation and wishes to express its concern if this practice had been allowed to develop. 

'Transparency is essential' 

"Transparency with regard to the conflicting interests of elected members is essential for the maintenance of trust in local government. 

"Without such transparency, it is impossible for the public to properly hold their elected members to account.

"The Commission finds that this contravention was committed recklessly by Mr Tommy Reilly. 

"As a long-standing councillor of 21 years service at the time, and with all the experience that entails, the Commission finds that he should have known better and, if he was in doubt, should have sought specific advice beforehand."

Mr Reilly lost the seat he had held for 27 years in last year's local elections.