Top officials at the Galway County Council were at odds with each other on how to deal with the findings of an internal investigation into “irregularities’ regarding invoices submitted by a councillor for works carried out during a Community Involvement Scheme in Ardrahan in south Galway in 2003, it emerged at Galway Circuit Criminal Court yesterday.
The second day of the trial of Cllr Michael Fahy, Caherduff, Ardrahan, who denies seven charges of fraud and attempted theft from Galway County Council in 2002 and 2003, heard evidence from retired Galway county manager, Donal O’Donoghue, that he made a decision not to refer the findings of an internal county Council investigation into “irregularities” of invoices submitted by Cllr Fahy at the council’s Gort office to the Gardai, because of the trauma an investigation might cause to Council staff and their families.
Mr O’Donoghue said he had been a civil servant for 42 years without incident and he decided on March 31, 2004 - just four days before his retirement - to deal with the matter internally as it had occurred under his “stewardship”, by imposing sanctions and penalties on Cllr Fahy instead and he made a manager’s order on that date, “that the decision to refer the file to the Gardai be deferred”.
This was in spite of recommendations by head of the council’s Road and Transportation Section, Mr John Morgan, (who had direct responsibility for Community Involvement Schemes ), to institute legal proceedings against Cllr Fahy immediately and to get the Gardai to launch an investigation into the alleged procurement by Cllr Fahy of €7,055.15 by false pretences from the Council in 2002, for works purported to have been done during the CIS, but which were never sanctioned by the council, and for the alleged attempt to procure a further €7,523.91 from the council in 2003.
Mr O’Donoghue said he reached a decision not to follow Mr Morgan’s recommendations and to deal with the matter internally when Cllr Fahy repaid the €7,055.15, to the council and withdrew the invoice he had submitted for €7,523.91. Witness said the accused also made a donation of €3,000 to the Ardrahan Lourdes Fund, and he himself withheld €14,500, earmarked for the councillor’s Notice of Motion Fund for the following year as a form of sanction.
Mr O’Donoghue said these irregularities had “cropped up” under his “stewardship” and he wanted to deal with the matter himself before retiring days later. He said he also wanted to ensure that the administration of CISs were “foolproof” from now on.
Mr Tom Kavanagh who was appointed caretaker county manager, on Mr O’Donoghue’s retirement said his office received a request for information regarding the CIS file from Irish Independent reporter Brian MacDonald, under the Freedom of Information Act. He said he made the decision not to give the journalist any information and to give the file instead to the Gardai on June 17, 2004.
He agreed his decision to go to the Gardai was in direct conflict with the former manager’s order, but, he said, in light of the publicity the FOI request would generate he felt it was better to go to the Gardai.
The trial continues today.
