Coalition leaders say Niall Collins should have recused himself from land sale meeting
Gareth Chaney/collins Niall Collins Picture:
Niall Collins should have recused himself from a meeting which discussed the sale of a piece of land that his wife subsequently bought, the three Government leaders have said.
The Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Green Party leader have, however, said that Mr Collins has not breached any laws or rules.
Mr Collins said on Monday that the the sale of the property in Limerick in 2008 was a “transparent and open” process.
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said that "in hindsight" the Limerick TD should have recused himself from a local area committee meeting, but he said Mr Collins had not broken any laws and the land was sold at a time when he was no longer a member of the council.
Leo Varadkar said the sale of land by a local authority can only be signed off on at a full council meeting, adding that Mr Collins "wasn't even a member of the council at the time when the property was disposed of".
"I think it would have been better practice for him not to participate in the local area committee," Mr Varadkar said.
He added: "The suggestion that some sort of law was broken.. just isn't correct."
Green Party leader Eamon Ryan agreed that Mr Collins should have recused himself, but also stated that a local area committee does not have authority when it comes to selling properties.
The Fianna Fáil party released a statement on Monday on behalf of Mr Collins after allegations appeared on the news website about property-related matters.
“In September 2008 at a statutory meeting of the Limerick County Council the sale of a property in Patrickswell was approved and sold following a transparent and open sales process, which was open to all,” the statement read.
“For the record I was not a member of the council in September 2008, having been elected as a TD in May 2007. Prior to the sale in 2008, the property was advertised in the local public press.
“When the council executive recommended to the Bruff LEA committee that the property should be put up for sale in January 2007, neither I nor my wife had any pecuniary or beneficial interest in that property.
“There was no disagreement to the executive’s recommendation.”
Mr Collins is facing pressure to make a statement and take questions in the Dáil over the issue.