A former Fianna Fáil councillor who failed to disclose his son’s interest in lands before a vote that would “significantly increase” their value, contravened ethics rules and “acted recklessly”, the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo) has found.
Tommy Reilly, who was a councillor in Meath for almost three decades, was the subject of a complaint received in March 2022 over “acts and omissions” concerning lands at Liscarton in Navan.
Those lands were owned by his son, Ciarán Reilly, and had increased in value from €500,000 to some €4.2 million, at which they were marketed for sale in 2020 following the rezoning for housing and the granting of planning permission.
Ciarán Reilly purchased the lands in 2016, telling the commission during a hearing in June that while he had not initially purchased the lands as an investment for development, he later formed the view that they may be an investment opportunity.
RM Block
He told the commission he did not discuss the Liscarton lands with his father until June or July 2017, when he inquired about the proposed rezoning and development plan process.
He held the interest in the lands through his company RABS, the director of which ultimately became his brother, Tomás Reilly.
Tommy Reilly attended several meetings concerning the lands between July 2016 and July 2017 while a councillor, according to the Sipo report published on Tuesday.
He told the commission he did not learn of his son’s beneficial interest in the lands until July 2017, about two weeks before the special planning meeting, saying he did not generally discuss his son’s business interests with him.
After questions from his son regarding making a submission, Mr Reilly said he told him it was too late to make one, and that he “could have nothing to do with it”.
The commission said it was not persuaded by the evidence provided by Mr Reilly and his two sons and found itself “unable to rely on it”.
Mr Reilly said he spoke to a council official before the special planning meeting in July 2017. He said he proceeded to declare that he had a conflict of interest, which was recorded in the minutes, and excused himself from the vote.
However, he did not disclose the nature of his interest or the fact of his sons’ interest.
Mr Reilly told the commission that in 30 years, he had never seen anyone do that at a meeting. He added that three years after the meeting, in September 2020, he wrote to the council’s ethics registrar, disclosing the nature of the conflict of interest.
A review carried out by then chief executive of the council, Jackie Maguire, found “there was compliance with the spirit but not the letter” of the Ethical Framework for Councillors and that he had “inadvertently breached” the framework.
The commission said Mr Reilly’s failure to disclose his son’s interest in the lands at the special planning meeting was a contravention that was “committed recklessly” and was a “serious matter”.
Noting that the vote at the special planning meeting was likely to “significantly increase” the value of the land owned by his son, the commission said Mr Reilly “acted recklessly” in not declaring his son’s interest.
“As a long-standing councillor of 21 years’ service at the time, and with all the experience that entails, the commission finds that he should have known better and, if he was in doubt, should have sought specific advice beforehand,” it said.
