A senior executive engineer with Mayo County Council was found by the Standards in Public Office Commission to have breached the Ethics in Public Office Act in a report published recently. The investigation was carried out by the commission after an allegation against Kieran Lynn in relation to the declaration of interests and works carried out to improve access to lands he owned at Cushalogurt, Westport, Co Mayo, by Mayo County Council.
Following their investigations the commission found that Lynn had, on a number occasions, not declared his interests in a number of properties. They described these breaches as “minor in nature”. The commission did however find that he had used “his official position in Mayo County Council, and the resources of the council, for personal gain in that works were carried out to improve an access to his lands at Cushalogurt, Westport, County Mayo”. The report went on to state: “The Commission is satisfied that the contravention was committed intentionally and was, in all the circumstances, a serious matter.”
The improvement in question was the removal of a bend in the road at a cost of €5,500. The bend had been one of the main reasons that an application by Mr Lynn’s wife for outline planning permission for two houses on the lands was not granted in 2003. Mayo County Council granted outline permission for one house rather than two, but when this was appealed to An Bord Pleanála by several neighbours, the granting of the permission was overturned. In 2005 Mr Lynn and his wife entered into a land dedication agreement with Mayo County Council which gave the council 0.032 acres of land for the purpose of the removal of the bend in the road. As part of the land dedication the council agreed to put in new fencing on the lands and for seven to eight loads of topsoil to be delivered to his lands also. In 2008 Lynn sold the lands in a swap agreement with another party where he received lands worth €90,000 compared to the €75,000 value that had been placed on the lands at Cushalogurt.
