Ombudsman
decides that complaint on €2.4 million paid by Shannon LNG to Kerry County
Council "would be a matter for An
Garda Siochána on the basis that
corruption itself is a crime".
On May 17th, the Irish Ombudsman's office ruled
that a complaint about millions of euros paid by Shannon LNG to Kerry
County Council before it lodged its latest planning application for an
LNG terminal in Tarbert, County Kerry was "outside the remit of
the Ombudsman and would be a matter for An Garda Siochána on the basis
that corruption itself is a crime".
The complaint had been referred to the Ombudsman after Kerry County
Council would not even acknowledge the initial complaint on the matter
sent to it by 'Safety Before LNG'.
The controversy first came
to light in September 2022, when Safety Before LNG was released
documents in an AIE request to Kerry County which showed that Kerry
County Council requested and was paid over €2.4 million by Shannon LNG
after its planning permission for an onshore LNG terminal expired in
2018 and before it lodged a new planning application for a floating LNG
teminal and 600 MW power station in Tarbert in 2021.
€2.4
million was paid after Shannon LNG held its first pre-application
planning meeting with Kerry County Council, on January 24th, 2020,
concerning the new application
for Strategic Infrastructure Status it had lodged at An Bord Pleanála
on
March 20th, 2019 for a Floating LNG terminal and power station.
Safety Before LNG was extremely concerned about the implications and
consequences
of Shannon LNG paying millions of euros to Kerry County Council at a
point in time when it was not obliged to do so and before it had lodged
a
new planning application.
Fine Gael Councillor Jim
Finucane told the Irish Independent Newspaper
that these payments were "good faith"
contributions made by a company that was committed to the area.
The Ombudsman decision stated:
"Unfortunately,
the function of the Ombudsman is to investigate complaints of an
administrative nature only and unfortunately, we are not in a position
to investigate complaints about claims of corruption. Such matters are
outside the remit of the Ombudsman and would be a matter
for An
Garda Síochána on the basis that corruption itself is a crime. While
I also note the matter of a failure on the part of Kerry County Council
to respond to your complaint, while this in itself is an administrative
action, it is our policy that we do not consider such actions where the
substantive issue being complained about is outside our remit".
End.
Notes to the editor
The full complaint to the Ombudsman can be
viewed here
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