THE OIREACHTAS AUTHORITIES have received a complaint from a member of the public over claims from a Labour senator that he was offered a trip abroad to coincide with a vote on the referendum to abolish the Seanad.
The claim from Denis Landy in the Sunday Independent over a week ago has led to calls for him to make a formal complaint to gardaí and Leinster House authorities, but he has so far not done this.
Landy told the paper that he was offered a holiday in New York to coincide with a series of votes on the legislation giving effect to the Seanad abolition referendum earlier this month.
He claimed it was an attempt to get him out of the country in order for the government’s proposal to be defeated.
A spokesperson for the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission has confirmed to TheJournal.ie that there has been no complaint received from Landy himself but did say there has now been a complaint from a member of the public which is being examined.
“We’ve received no correspondence from the Senator about the matter but today we received correspondence from a member of the public and that’s in the process of being dealt with,” the spokesperson said yesterday, declining to give any further details.
It is understood the letter is from a member of the public and is asking the Oireachtas authorities, who received the correspondence yesterday morning, to look into Landy’s claims.
A Labour spokesperson said last week that Landy did not intend to pursue the matter however it was later reported that he was seeking legal advice before taking any further steps.
Landy has failed to respond to several calls and texts from this website in the past week.
Gardaí – who could conceivably investigate the case under the Corruption Act – said they do not comment on individual cases. A garda spokesperson also declined to confirm if any complaint had been made to them about Landy’s allegations.
“Anyone who wishes can make a report of any alleged crime at their local Garda Station and any incidents reported will be fully investigated,” a spokesperson said.
A Labour spokesperson did not return a request for comment yesterday.
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