SENATOR'S COURT CHALLENGE:A SEANAD committee's finding that Senator Ivor Callely misrepresented his normal place of residence in order to claim expenses was "a political judgment" against the Senator by his peers, it was argued before the High Court yesterday.
Mr Callely, in seeking to overturn findings made against him last July by the Seanad’s Select Committee of Members’ Interests, contends he had complied with the rules and made a claim for expenses he was entitled to make.
Michael O’Higgins SC, for Mr Callely, argued before Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O’Neill yesterday the committee had made a political finding against his client that was “false” and would be “difficult if not impossible to reconcile with the evidence”.
In his action, the Senator claims the committee, in making the finding against him, disregarded the Department of Finance’s definition of a normal place of residence for the purposes of claiming expenses.
He claims the committee made a political and ethical decision against him and that it was not entitled to do so.
He is seeking orders aimed at quashing the committee’s finding that he intentionally misrepresented his normal place of residence as Kilcrohane, Bantry, Co Cork, in order to claim allowances. As a result of the committee’s findings, he received a 20-day suspension from the Seanad.
In addition to an order quashing the decision, he is also claiming damages.
In its statement of opposition, the committee argues the court has no jurisdiction to interfere with a decision of an Oireachtas committee. Given the constitutional separation of powers and article 15.10 of the Constitution, the Seanad and its committees are masters of their own deliberations, it contends.
The committee also argues it acted properly and its determination related to political ethics and the propriety of Mr Callely’s behaviour in submitting such expenses claims.
The committee has further denied Mr Callely’s claims its findings were a breach of fair procedures or biased against him. The report was “lawfully adopted” by the Seanad, it argues.
The members of the committee are Senators Pat Moylan (FF), who is also Seanad Cathaoirleach, Camillus Glynn (FF), Denis O’Donovan (FF), Joe O’Toole (Independent), Alex White (Labour), Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael) and Dan Boyle (Greens).
Mr O’Higgins said his client’s claim for expenses from Bantry were validly made under the definition of a member’s “normal place of residence”. The Senator had applied a definition provided by the Department of Finance and supplied to him by the Members Services of the Houses of the Oireachtas Service, counsel said.
While the committee had not taken issue with the fact that Mr Callely had complied with the definition by the department, it had stated it was entitled not to apply the department’s interpretation of the definition of normal place of residence as it regarded that definition as being in error.
Such a statement was remarkable as the committee was effectively saying it could disregard the definition and it had substituted it with one which was vague and not known to anybody else, including his client, counsel said.
The committee had decided to punish Mr Callely for his actions and that decision was a “political judgment” by the Senator’s peers for what they held to be his unethical actions, Mr O’Higgins said. That finding was the “equivalent of trying to put a very large square peg into a small round hole”.
Mr Callely had no right of appeal and the finding and the media attention surrounding the hearing had disastrous consequences for him, counsel added.
The finding sparked a vicious media campaign and also resulted in calls for the gardaí to investigate Mr Callely’s actions.
The case is expected to conclude today.