Sinn Féin call for additional powers for SIPO as Paschal Donohoe subject of complaint
/ Ie Picture: Rollingnews Farrell Leah
Opposition parties have voiced their concern following the news that Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe has been the subject of a complaint to the Standard in Public Office (SIPO) over an alleged breach in electoral rules.
The minister has confirmed to the that he is “aware of the complaint” and “will engage with SIPO” on the matter.
Mr Donohoe in his statement said he always held himself to the highest standards in the conduct of his work and is now conducting a full review of his records at the time which is the subject of the complaint which relates to the 2016 General Election.
The understands that a complaint has been lodged alleging that Mr Donohoe was in receipt of services during the election campaign which were never declared.
The complaint is said to state that the value of said services was in the region of €10,000.
The complaint alleges that unnamed firms supplied Mr Donohoe with two vehicles and several people to erect election posters during his campaign as well as the removal of posters once the election was over.
The complaint alleges that the failure to declare these matters is in breach of the Electoral Act.
In 2016, Mr Donohoe was elected to the second seat in Dublin Central despite a major redrawing of the boundaries which had severely impacted on his core areas of support.
Mr Donohoe’s spokeswoman said: “The minister is aware of a complaint made to SIPO. He will engage with SIPO on the matter.
Sinn Féin Public Expenditure and Reform spokeswoman Mairéad Farrell called for immediate clarification from Mr Donohoe, adding: “He is the Minister with responsibility over SIPO, it is concerning that he is being investigated by them.
"This is now the perfect opportunity for the Minister to grant the crucial additional power which SIPO have long been calling for and which his Government have failed to grant them.
"Namely the ability to conduct investigations without the need of a formal complaint to start the process.”
A Labour spokesman encouraged the minister to engage fully over the issue, adding: “As Minister with responsibility for ethics legislation and the updated legislation which is due to be published early this year, the Minister will be acutely aware of his particular responsibilities in this regard.
“We understand from media reports that Minister Donohoe is undertaking an examination of all records that might relate to the complaint they have received.
“We would encourage him to complete this exercise swiftly and to provide SIPO with all the information they require to make a determination on this complaint.”
SIPO has said that it does not comment on queries about individual cases. However, commenting generally on its procedures, it said when any complaint is received, if the Commission considers that there is sufficient evidence to warrant an investigation under the ethics act, it will proceed to hold an investigation hearing.
At that stage, details of the matter are publicised on the Commission's website, and the investigation is then held usually in public, it said.
After an investigation is carried out the commission publishes a report detailing its findings and its determinations and forwarded to the relevant persons. Further information on complaints and investigations are available on the website, SIPO said.
Mr Donohoe has been a TD in Dublin Central since 2011 and is the current President of the Eurogroup of Finance Ministers.