Damien English, a Fine Gael ex-junior minister, will not be investigated by the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) regarding a controversial incorrect planning application he submitted to Meath County Council in 2008.
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy had filed a complaint with SIPO several months ago at the time when the controversy first broke in April.
People Before Profit TD to lodge complaint about Niall Collins property controversy to SIPOhttps://t.co/Mm06leSe8F
— Buzz.ie (@buzzdotie) April 29, 2023
However, the commission has since informed Murphy that English had completed his annual declarations in line with official guidelines.
“Therefore, the commission was of the view that the complaint was not of sufficient gravity to warrant investigation,” they told Murphy.
English resigned as Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment following revelations by The Ditch in January.
English subsequently said that he had reviewed his planning application after these revelations and found that he had failed to inform Meath County Council that he owned a house in Castlemartin.
“This was wrong, not up to the standard required, and I apologise for doing so,” he said.
In 2008 – 14 years ago – English and his wife had applied to build a bungalow in Co Meath.
During the Local Needs Assessment for the planning application, English said that he lived in the family home at Castlemartin for the preceding 30 years, and that he didn’t at the time own a house in Co. Meath, nor had he owned one prior. It was reportedly on this basis that he was given planning permission.
This was not the first time Paul Murphy has referred a government Junior Minister to SIPO in recent months.
Earlier this year it was revealed that Junior Minister for Skills and Further Education, Niall Collins, allegedly failed to recuse himself from a Limerick county council meeting over a decade ago, during which the council decided to sell a patch of land. Subsequently, this land was reportedly bought by his wife.
Paul Murphy also reported this case to SIPO, leading Tánaiste Micheál Martin to accuse Murphy of “weaponising” the state ethics watchdog.
Tánaiste accuses Paul Murphy of ‘weaponising’ Sipo over Niall Collins complaint https://t.co/HRPDhfcNnf
— The Irish Times (@IrishTimes) April 28, 2023
Since then, Web Summit founder Paddy Cosgrave has made a criminal complaint against Collins, which has reportedly been referred to senior Gardaí by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris.
Paddy Cosgrave’s criminal complaint against Niall Collins is referred to senior garda https://t.co/WzBqkHTklx
— Irish Independent (@Independent_ie) June 11, 2023