THE BUSINESSMAN WHO paid for campaign posters to be erected for Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe is on the board of the Land Development Agency.
On Sunday, Minister Donohoe apologised for failing to declare a donation of services to the ethics watchdog during the 2016 General Election campaign.
It follows on from a complaint being made against Donohoe for not declaring the services to the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo) following the election.
This donation of services was provided by businessman Michael Stone to six individuals, who worked to put up and take down election posters.
These services were provided over four days, with a company van also being used by the individuals hanging posters.
In total, Donohoe says that €1,057 was left unaccounted for in his declarations to Sipo, which is the value of the labour and the company van.
Under Sipo rules, all political donations over the value of €600 must be registered with the ethics watchdog.
It has since emerged that businessman Stone is also on the board of the Land Development Agency (LDA).
The LDA was established in September 2018 and is a commercial, State-sponsored body whose purpose is to “maximise the supply of affordable and social homes on public land”.
In response to a Parliamentary Question from Sinn Féin’s Eoin Ó Broin in 2019, then-Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy said that he appointed an “interim Board with a mix of public and private sector skills.”
Michael Stone, who is also the Chair of the North East Inner City initiative, was one of the people appointed to the board of the LDA by the former Fine Gael TD.
In a statement to The Journal, a spokesperson for the LDA said Stone was “appointed to the interim board of the Agency shortly after its formation in January 2019 and reappointed in December 2021″.
Members of the board of the LDA can receive remuneration of €15,750, in line with other State agencies and can claim certain travel and subsistence expenses.
However, the LDA spokesperson said that Stone has “waived his remuneration fee since the outset of his involvement with the Agency and does not claim expenses”.
Due to his Department’s oversight of Sipo, Donohoe has since recused himself from some of his duties as Public Expenditure Minister relating to the ethics watchdog.
He told reporters yesterday that he was originally unaware that the six individuals were paid for their postering work, believing it to be voluntary.
He also said he was unaware that a company van was used.
Donohoe added that it was a “clear oversight on my part” and apologised.
“Neither myself nor the campaign team paid the people involved, nor was I at that time aware they had been paid,” Donohoe said.
“For that reason, no cost was attributed to this support on the election expense submitted to Sipo following that election.”
Donohoe also told reporters that the payment itself was made by an individual in support of Fine Gael in Dublin Central and that it was not made by a corporate entity.
He added that he has since amended his election statement to account for the payment of the six individuals, alongside the use of the company van.
With the complaint process now underway, there have been new calls for Donohoe to further explain himself, with Sinn Féin calling for a “comprehensive statement”, while Labour seek a Dáil statement.
-With additional reporting from Tadgh McNally
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