Senator Brian O’Domhnaill faces five allegations of double claiming on his expenses when he was a county councillor, Donegaldaily.com has learned, but the Senator is insisting it’s all lies.
And we can reveal the allegations have been made ANONYMOUSLY, fueling new anger from the Fianna fail man.
The allegations are being investigated by Donegal County Council and its Ethics Registrar, but the source and real nature of the person behind them remains a mystery.
We can reveal that the investigation was sparked after an anonymous letter was sent to a serving County Councillor who in turn contacted county manager Seamus Neely.
The County Councillor told us that he felt morally obliged to pass on the information to the County Manager.
“I am not passing judgement in any way on Senator O’Domhnaill. But I felt I had an obligation to pass this material on.
“I read the material sent to me and it was very detailed. I cannot say if it is correct or not. It relates to five different claims, but as I said, I have no idea who sent them.
“I went to see the County Manager and told him what had happened and that I was now passing it on to him,” he revealed.
However Senator O’Domhnaill is furious with how the allegations surfaced and in particular how they are based on an anonymous letter.
Speaking to donegaldaily.com he denied all the allegations and is seeking legal advice on the matter.
He told us “I am on dry ground on this matter. I can account for all my expenses and I am extremely confident that this inquiry will clear my name of these false and malicious allegations.”
Donegal County Council received an original query about the allegation from a member of the public in March last year.
Fianna Fail also held their own internal investigation into the rumours but found no substance to them.
“It was a pack of lies,” said a party source. “It was clearly a bid to damage Brian but it was made up as far as we were concerned.”
The allegations, which relate to the years 2006/2007 are now being examined by the council’s Ethics Registrar.
Senator O Domhnaill said he hoped his name would be cleared as soon as possible. He also confirmed he had met libel lawyers last night.
The Council says the matter is being processed in accordance with the relevant provisions of Part 15 of the Local Government Act, 2001.
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