THE STANDARDS IN Public Office (Sipo) Commission has spent almost €350,000 in its investigation into alleged duplication of expenses by a Fianna Fáil senator when he was a member of Donegal County Council (DCC).

The expenses in question were claimed by Brian Ó Domhnaill between 2006 and 2007, and are believed to be in the region of €2,000.

Documents released to TheJournal.ie under the Freedom of Information Act show that over €349,600 has been spent on the case, including legal fees and translation costs.

On 9 May 2016, a public hearing of Sipo heard Ó Domhnaill claimed travel and subsistence expenses from DCC for three meetings he attended in March, April and May 2006.

The then councillor claimed travel and subsistence expenses from Údarás na Gaeltachta (Ú na G) for meetings taking place in other locations on the same dates. He denied any wrongdoing and told the hearing he filled out his expense claims “as honestly as he could”.

The majority of the costs relate to High Court and Court of Appeal hearings connected to the case. Sipo won its claim for costs so the majority of the money is expected to be returned to the exchequer.

As of 21 September, Sipo received invoices from law firm A&L Goodbody topping €178,000.

Sipo’s senior counsel Lúan Ó Braonáin has submitted invoices for over €85,000. Tens of thousands more have been paid out to barristers involved in the case for research, consultation and proofreading.

The commission has also spent over €13,200 on translation services from Snasta.

In a letter sent to Sipo on 9 June, and seen by TheJournal.ie, A&L Goodbody noted that additional translation and stenography fees were incurred.

The Simultaneous Interpretation Company Ltd was paid €1,890, con[text] was paid almost €3,400 and Gwen Malone Stenography Services was paid €3,460. Food expenses on the day of the hearing totalled over €330.

A sample of one of the invoices received by Sipo Source: Sipo

The commission came to a decision on the case in July. The report will need to be translated into Irish and given legal approval before it can be published.

The investigation was carried out in both English and Irish at Ó Domhnaill’s request.

Speaking to TheJournal.ie this week, a spokesperson for Sipo said it couldn’t comment on the investigation or when the report might be published.

In May, the senator said that “great damage” has been done to his name because of the investigation, but he believes he did the right thing in leaving conferences early to attend meetings in Donegal.

Ó Domhnaill, who was nominated to the Seanad by then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in 2007, said that it had “cost him more” in reputational damage and monetary costs than he could have hoped to claim in expenses.

Earlier this year he was re-elected to the Seanad’s Agricultural Panel. At the time of publication, Ó Domhnaill had not responded to requests for comment from TheJournal.ie about the investigation.

‘False, malicious attack’

Ó Braonáin told the hearing in May that Ó Domhnaill claimed expenses for attending a DCC conference in Fairways Hotel in Dundalk, Co Louth from 9-11 March 2006, as well as expenses from Ú na G for attending a Donegal Sports Partnership (DSP) meeting in Letterkenny on 10 March.

The then councillor and DSP chair claimed DCC expenses for attending an Institute of Public Administration training event in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan from 26-27 April, and Ú na G expenses for attending a DSP meeting in Letterkenny on 27 April.

The commission heard that Ó Domhnaill also claimed travel and subsistence expenses from DCC for attending a marine tourism conference in Carlingford, Co Louth from 30 May – 2 June 2006, and claimed Ú na G expenses for a DSP meeting in Dungloe, Co Donegal on 31 May.

As such, Ó Domhnaill is alleged to have breached Section 168 of the Local Government Act and the Ethics in Public Office Act.

Séamas Ó Tuathail, senior counsel for Ó Domhnaill, told the hearing the original complaint made against the senator was a “false, malicious attack”. The complaint stemmed from a letter sent to DCC from a person who described themselves as “a concerned citizen”.

Language issues

In May, Ó Braonáin recalled how the public hearing into the case was delayed on numerous occasions since 2012.

Ó Braonáin said Ó Domhnaill “wanted to have his side of the case dealt with in Irish, which he was entitled to do”.

The senator made a claim to the High Court regarding the language issues. He wanted members of the commission to be bilingual and able to conduct proceedings without the assistance of an interpreter. He argued that if this requirement could not be met his rights as an Irish speaker would be infringed.

Ó Domhnaill also argued that the commission was not entitled to deal with the issues raised as they stemmed from an anonymous letter.

In July 2015, the Court of Appeal cleared the way for the investigation.

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