Government investigation into protection money scandal must extend to all councils, says TD
The politician who first raised the Dublin City Council protection money scandal is insisting that the local authority's bosses must immediately explain if they knew about the payments - and is urging the Government to examine all councils across Ireland.
Sinn Féin TD, Aengus Ó Snodaigh, said clarity on the issues is necessary as he hit out at the Government's "limited" response to what has happened to date.
In a High Court case on Tuesday, it emerged that two council officials recommended that protection money be paid to two criminals so a housing development could be built in Cherry Orchard, west Dublin, in 2016 and 2017.
Three firms, which were delivering the homes for the council, subsequently paid between €1,200 and €1,500 a week to the individuals, amounting to more than €500,000 over the two years.
While no money was paid directly by the Council, the firms were reimbursed by the local authority after a number of violent incidents at the site including a serious assault on a JCB operator in 2016.
Dublin City Council said on Wednesday it has opened an internal inquiry to find out what happened.
However, amid growing fears over whether council managers knew about the payments, Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy scrapped the council's inquiry last night - and replaced it with an independent Government investigation.
Speaking to the Irish Examiner today, Aengus Ó Snodaigh said there are ongoing questions over who knew what about the case for the past three years.
And, in a clear warning to officials, he said Dublin City Council chief executive, Owen Keegan, and other senior bosses must immediately clarify if they authorised the payments - adding that the Government's independent investigation needs to be extended to all councils across the country.
"Yes, the senior council officials as a whole need to explain what they knew about this, when, and whether they authorised it," Mr Ó Snodaigh said.
Asked about the Government's independent investigation into the specific Dublin City Council case, he said: "I think it would be very foolish to limit this inquiry or audit to one council, given there are stories about other councils.
I think they should expand this investigation further, and they should do it now instead of waiting.
"The Government review should only take days, or a number of weeks. There is no reason for it to take too long because a lot of the information is already known because of the High Court case.
"They need to look at other councils, contact developers and builders if needs be, and check with the gardaí to see if any other complaints have been made," Mr Ó Snodaigh said.
While the Department of Housing is due to only examine the specific case highlighted this week, it is understood it will consider expanding any review if the information it uncovers suggests this is necessary.
