The Chief Executive of Galway City Council is preparing a report on claims that some senior staff secured affordable homes, despite not meeting criteria to qualify to purchase them.
Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh said yesterday (Thursday) that he has received further information on the matter, and will be reporting the matter to the Gardaí.
Several councillors and local authority staff have branded the senator “irresponsible” for raising the matter under Seanad privilege [legal protection afforded members in the Houses of the Oireachtas] – and “tarring all employees with the one brush”.
Claims were made in the Seanad last week by the senator that some staff had been able to purchase affordable housing despite not meeting criteria for qualification and that higher-spec homes had been ‘cherry-picked’.
The senator told the Galway City Tribune yesterday that he has been given further documentation in relation to the matter and is currently poring over it.
He confirmed that he “will definitely” be passing his files on to the Gardaí.
“I’ve had more documents sent to me by someone else. I have to look at the nature of what I’ve been sent and I will definitely be contacting the Gardaí. I still have to make a decision on whether it would be appropriate to forward my information to the Council, as they would be investigating themselves,” said Senator Ó Clochartaigh.
According to the Council, the senator’s claims led to harassment and abuse of staff at City Hall since last week – including one incident where a man had to be escorted from the reception area by an off-duty Garda.
This week, the Council said a report is being prepared by Mr McGrath on the operation of the Affordable Housing Scheme in the Council following the “very broad and very damaging” allegations in the Seanad.
The Galway City Tribune understands that a total of 711 houses purchased in the city under ‘Part V’ Affordable Housing Scheme (developers had to hand over 20% of the units under each planning permission) between 1999 and 2009, of which seven went to Council staff.
A local authority source said: “There are no questions in relation to those seven allocations, the files have been looked at and there is no issue.”
Read further coverage of the allegations in this week’s Galway City Tribune.
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