Niall Collins to address ‘all circumstances’ surrounding planning application in Dáil

Minister of State Niall Collins is expected to make a personal statement in the Dáil today or tomorrow addressing “all the circumstances” of a planning application for a house he submitted to Limerick County Council more than 20 years ago.

The Fianna Fáil TD for Co Limerick has insisted he acted correctly when he made the application in 2001 seeking permission to build a home on lands owned by his father in Cloughkeating, Patrickswell, Co Limerick.

He has disputed assertions made by the news website The Ditch surrounding the application for the site, which was located in a so-called “pressure area” that had restrictions on over-development.

At the time, applicants in pressure areas were required to show that they had not previously owned a home in the area. The Ditch has claimed Mr Collins owned another property with his wife Eimear O’Connor, in Dooradoyle, Limerick.

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In a statement issued after the article was published online, Mr Collins confirmed he and his wife owned a property on Fr Russell Road in Dooradoyle but it “was not in the pressure area”. He said he acted correctly at all times, and met all the conditions for planning permission in respect of the Patrickswell site.

There have been calls from Opposition parties for Mr Collins to make a statement to the Dáil on the matter.

It is understood Mr Collins, a Minister of State for Higher Education, has sought permission from the Ceann Comhairle to address the Dáil. However, he said he would not do so until he has read the full 2001 planning file, which he received from Limerick County Council on Tuesday afternoon.

A Fianna Fáil spokeswoman said Mr Collins wanted time to study the file and would make a statement to the Dáil either on Wednesday, or Thursday at the latest.

[ Niall Collins says he acted correctly in Limerick planning application ]

On Tuesday, the beleaguered Minister of State received strong backing from the Government. At a post-Cabinet briefing on Tuesday, spokesmen from all three Coalition parties expressed “full confidence” in him.

The deputy Government spokesman said that clarity would be provided in the Dáil in the coming days and Mr Collins would explain “all circumstances” around the story.

A full copy of the planning file for the lands in Cloughkeating was made available to The Irish Times.

In the 2001 application Mr Collins gave his home address as his parents’ home, Red House Hill, in Patrickswell and said he had lived there from 1971, the year he was born.

The application states: “Applicant proposes to build his own family home and move out of his parents’ home.”

It further states that Mr Collins’ father owns the “entire field” from which the site is taken.

The central allegation made by The Ditch is that Mr Collins was not living in his parents’ home at the time of the application but rather in another home with his wife in Dooradoyle. It is expected he will address this in his personal statement to the Dáil.

On Tuesday, Labour TD Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said the accusations made by The Ditch were “serious” while noting Mr Collins had rejected them. “We absolutely believe it is appropriate for Minister Niall Collins to also make a Dáil statement and it needs to happen fast.

Gary Gannon of the Social Democrats and People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett both said he should answer questions on the issue.

Mr Collins was first elected a councillor in 2004 and was first elected to the Dáil in 2011.