Examining corruption in Ireland
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Writing in today’s Sunday Independent Eamon Delaney tells us that one good effect of the recession is the slowing down of badly planned building projects.
He’s correct, of course, but what does it say about how we do things when good/bad planning depends entirely on whether we’re in boom or bust.
Good news for the people of Cashel. An Bord Pleanála has rejected planning permission for a five storey, 83 bedroom hotel on land formerly owned by the Presentation Order of nuns.
The nuns had agreed, under pressure from the local council, to sell the land to the council on condition that it was to be turned into a park for the town. However, once the council got their hands on it they turned it over to a developer for a nice profit.
See here for previous posting
The Cashel planning scam was further analysed on Today with Pat Kenny last Wednesday (Previous posts here and here).
Philip Boucher Hayes, head of RTEs Investigative Unit, spoke to Cashel Town Clerk, Seamus Maher about the Council’s threat of using a Compulsory Purchase Order to force the nuns to sell their property cheaply.
Maher: Looking at it from the point of view of the need to acquire land for our various purposes it’s a method that could be used; it wasn’t used in this case
Hayes: But the threat of it was used
Maher: Well, it was mentioned, I suppose in that sense I wouldn’t call it a threat
Hayes: But the letter does say ‘If necessary the council will consider the acquisition of this portion of the property by way of Compulsory Purchase Order’, that’s a threat.
Maher: I suppose, if necessary, it’s a mild one, I mean nobody was putting their backs to the wall
Hayes: Is it a bit of a sharp practice, raising the prospect of CPO and acquiring land, holding on to it for a while, watch it inflate in price and then sell it off at a profit
Maher: I suppose when you’re in negotiation for something you will do your best for the town or the local authority or business or whatever you’re involved in and I wouldn’t have seen it as malpractice or underhand dealing or whatever I mean there’s more things going on really which are much more serious than that
In another development the Council has removed preservation orders on 16 very old trees on the property so that the developer can knock them down.
Belated congratulations to Philip Boucher Hayes, head of RTEs impressive Investigative Unit. Philip won the Best News Broadcaster of the Year last November.
I see planning permission has been granted for a hotel on land formerly owned by the Presentation Sisters in Cashel. The decision is not unexpected as the property is very valuable and there’s lots of money to be made. Here’s what I wrote about the matter in February last year.
The latest planning scam was discussed on the Pat Kenny Show yesterday morning. A prime piece of property owned by nuns in the centre of Cashel was to be bought by the local council who claimed they wanted to develop the property as a park for the people of the town.
The Council, however, was dragging its heels so the nuns found another buyer. The Council responded by threatening them with a Compulsory Purchase Order and forced them to sell at a deflated price.
Once the deal was done the Council lost no time in rezoning the property and selling it on to a developer who plans to build a hotel on the land. In the process, the Council made a tidy little profit of €1.2 million from the deal.
The people of Cashel are very angry but what can they do? Well, nothing really, except complain and protest. Oh, they can also object to the planning permission that has already been submitted by the developer.
But who makes the decision on this planning application? Why, it’s the very same Council who lied to the nuns, pressurised them into selling at a greatly reduced rate and rezoned the property to substantially increase its value. I wonder what their decision will be.
The report also includes the best example of official gobbledygook that I’ve heard in a long time. When a spokesman for the Council was questioned on the change of use for the property he responded:
“Well, the Council at the time wanted to buy the land for, you know, specific purposes which weren’t clearly identified.”
The Greens have made their first significant impact (3rd item) on the way things have been traditionally done in this country. John Gormley, Minister for the Environment has overturned hundreds of land re-zonings made by Monaghan County Council.
Traditionally, county councils ignore development plans, disregard advice from the Department of the Environment and local officials and proceed to grant planning, as Minister Gormley describes it, in a sporadic and haphazard fashion. Reasons for such curious planning decisions often come to light in tribunal’s decades hence – too late to rectify the damage.
I have to admit it’s difficult to get used to an Irish politician acting in the public interest. Actually using legislation, Section 31 of the 2000 Planning Act, to
“protect the national interest and ensure proper planning and sustainable development.”
Destructive and irresponsible planning has been part our culture for decades. Yet I have never heard of a minister using this power, indeed, I didn’t know such powers existed as County Councils usually do as they please without censure.
Planning decisions, as everybody knows, can make ‘lucky’ individuals very rich overnight. This happens when agricultural land is rezoned for residential use; the Monaghan case involved around 300 such re-zonings.
Unfortunately, such re-zonings can also add considerably to the cost of buying a house so the explanation of Monaghan County Councillor, Padraig McNally is curious to say the least.
“We are conscious that we did, to some degree, over-zone. But we did it in the knowledge that it would bring down the price of land and maybe have a knock on effect on the price of houses which is obviously the greatest problem that society, as a whole, has to deal with in terms of housing.”
Developments on a story covered here before on Public Inquiry as far back as March 2006.
Bets are on as to what action the Public Office Commission will take.
The Standards in Public Office Commission has ordered two councillors from Killarney in Co Kerry to appear before it next month to investigate alleged breaches of ethics by them in attempts to re-zone land in the town.
It will be the first time the commission has held a public hearing to investigate the conduct of local authority members.
It should be remebered that Fine Gael’s Sheila Casey said that the idea of any conflict of interest ‘had not occurred to her’, despite being an employee of the Gleneagle Group.
The latest planning scam was discussed on the Pat Kenny Show yesterday morning. A prime piece of property owned by nuns in the centre of Cashel was to be bought by the local council who claimed they wanted to develop the property as a park for the people of the town.
The Council, however, was dragging its heels so the nuns found another buyer. The Council responded by threatening them with a Compulsory Purchase Order and forced them to sell at a deflated price.
Once the deal was done the Council lost no time in rezoning the property and selling it on to a developer who plans to build a hotel on the land. In the process, the Council made a tidy little profit of €1.2 million from the deal.
The people of Cashel are very angry but what can they do? Well, nothing really, except complain and protest. Oh, they can also object to the planning permission that has already been submitted by the developer.
But who makes the decision on this planning application? Why, it’s the very same Council who lied to the nuns, pressurised them into selling at a greatly reduced rate and rezoned the property to substantially increase its value. I wonder what their decision will be.
The report also includes the best example of official gobbledygook that I’ve heard in a long time. When a spokesman for the Council was questioned on the change of use for the property he responded:
“Well, the Council at the time wanted to buy the land for, you know, specific purposes which weren’t clearly identified.”
There is a belief within a good section of the Irish media that the bad old days of corruption are behind us. Planning corruption, for example, is almost always talked about as if it doesn’t happen any more. But of course, it is still rife, it’s just that the corrupt are a little more careful now in case they end up giving evidence before a tribunal.
Sometimes, we get examples of ‘the good old days’ of blatant corruption. The Irish Times recently reported such a case. Members of North Tipperary County Council convened a special meeting to force county manager Terry O’Niadh to break the law.
They want him to grant planning permission for an unauthorised development to a Mr. Duggan, a businessman who has already being convicted for non-compliance with planning laws.
While Fianna Fail is by far the most corrupt political party in Ireland, this case is a reminder that the disease of corruption has infected all the main political parties.
Fine Gael, the so called party of law and order and the Labour party are also supporting this attempt to break the law.
There’s a very interesting public meeting due to take place in Manorhamilton later today.
Those attending the meeting will be hoping for answers to some very curious matters concerning land deals, local politicians and developers.
It seems Leitrim County Council sold off lands to developers for a mere €100 and have now agreed to re-purchase a portion of said lands for €900,000.
As always in Ireland, this little deal was not discovered/challenged by any of the many so called regulatory bodies set up in recent years. It only came to light through the efforts of local community activist Gabriel McSharry.
Dubious goings on in Charleville:
Cork County Council has asked An Garda Síochána to investigate a land deal where the council agreed to buy 20 acres for €11.6 million at a time when the land was allegedly available for €8 million, writes Colm Keena, Public Affairs Correspondent
The Irish Times has learned that the council entered into talks over the land with two bank executives in October 2005, when the executives had not yet agreed to buy the land from property company Pushkin Developments.
Pushkin was seeking €8 million for the 20 acres of zoned land in Charleville, had engaged a selling agent, and had placed advertisements in the national press.
Permanent TSB branch manager in Cork Denis O’Reilly and Cork area branch manager Brian Cremins signed the contract with the council. They, and any partners they may have, stand to make a €3.6 million profit if the deal goes ahead. The contract for purchase was signed in April last but the sale has not been closed. It is not unusual for purchasers of property to engage in a sub-sale.
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