14 May 2015
Mr Tim Caffrey
Chief Executive
Longford County Council
Great Water Street
Longford
Co. Longford
Dear Mr Caffrey,
I refer to the complaint, dated 29 January 2014, from Councillor Larry Bannon, then Mayor, Longford County Council, under the Ethics in Public Office Acts 1995 and 2001 (the Ethics Acts).
Having considered the complaint, the Commission pursuant to Section 6(1) of the Standards in Public Office Act 2001 appointed Mr Brendan O'Neill as Inquiry Officer to perform the functions provided for in Section 6 of that Act in relation to the complaint received. In the course of his preliminary inquiry, Mr O'Neill interviewed and obtained statements from a number of persons, including you.
Mr O'Neill concluded his investigation and furnished his Report to the Commission on 9 September 2014. In his Report, Mr O'Neill expressed the opinion that there exists prima facie evidence to sustain an investigation of the complaint.
The purpose of this letter is to advise you that, following consideration of Mr O'Neill's Report at its meeting on 20 April 2015, the Commission has decided to initiate a formal investigation under the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 and the Standards in Public Office Act 2001 (the Ethics Acts) in relation to the complaint received. The Commission proposes to sit at 10.00 A.M. on Monday, 22 June 2015 at its offices at 18 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2 for the purposes of hearing evidence arising from this investigation. You are of course entitled, if you so wish, to be legally represented at that hearing. In the event that the proposed hearing date causes significant difficulty for you, I would be obliged if you would notify me of that fact as soon as possible.
In order to assist you in understanding the investigation process, I enclose a Statement of Intended Procedures which has been prepared by the Commission. I also enclose copies of the following:
1. Statement of Alleged Contravention
2. Report dated 9 September 2014 (including Appendices) of the Inquiry Officer appointed by the Commission.
The enclosed Report includes as Appendices certain documentation which was provided to Mr O'Neill in the course of his enquiries and also Statements obtained by him from officials of the Council. The Commission intends to rely on this documentation and these Statements in the investigation.
The Commission has extensive powers to compel the attendance of persons to give evidence to it and to procure documentation. However, it appears to the Commission that there is little or no factual dispute disclosed by this documentation and Statements and, in order to obviate the necessity of the Commission having to formally prove this and to call the authors of the Statements as witnesses to give oral evidence at the hearing in accordance with the Statements, I am directed by the Chairperson of the Commission to seek your written consent to these documents being produced in evidence without formal proof being required and for the written Statements to be admissible as evidence by the Commission at the hearing. That would not, of course, preclude you from giving evidence on your own behalf, calling any additional evidence which you consider appropriate or making submissions to the Commission.
In this context, you should note the provisions of Section 32(2) of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995, which is referred to in para. 4.6 of the Statement of Intended Procedures. As is stated there, the Commission will endeavour to comply with any reasonable request made by you or on your behalf in relation to the exercise by the Chairperson of his powers under that section for the purposes of securing the attendance of witnesses and/or the production of documents which you wish to present to the Commission.
I look forward to hearing from you as to whether you are prepared to agree to the documentation and the Statements included in the Appendices to the Inquiry Officer's report being admitted into evidence without formal proof.
If you or your legal representative require clarification of any of the matters raised in this letter or alternatively any of the procedures outlined in the Statement of Intended Procedures, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely,
_____________
Paddy Walsh
Commission Secretary
Ethics in Public Office Act 1995
Standards in Public Office Act 2001
Local Government Act 2001
(Section 32(6)(b) of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995)
Mr Tim Caffrey, Chief Executive, Longford County Council
STATEMENT OF ALLEGED CONTRAVENTION
That you contravened Section 178(2)(b) of the Local Government Act 2001 by failing to disclose in writing to the Cathaoirleach of Longford County Council ("the Council") the nature of your interest in a property at The Mill, Clondra, County Longford ("the Property"), namely that you were the owner of the Property, which interest you had actual knowledge of and which was material to a matter which arose from or as regards the performance by the Council of its functions, and in particular its functions under the Housing Act 1988, in respect of the submission on 31 July 2013 of an application by the Council to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government for the payment to the Council, pursuant to section 15 of the Housing Act 1988, of a grant under the Capital Assistance Scheme for the purchase of the Property by Muiríosa Foundation.