A former leas-cathaoirleach of the Seanad who failed to declare a donation of £2,500 will be given community service to perform by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court subject to a report regarding his suitability for such work.
Liam Cosgrave pleaded guilty to knowingly furnishing a falsified donation statement where he failed to declare that he had received any donation exceeding £500 (€635) between May 15th and December 31st, 1997.
Cosgrave (49), Merrion Park, Blackrock, Co Dublin, was elected to the Seanad in 1989.
Garda Neil Clayton of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation told Dominic McGinn, prosecuting, that legislation covering May-December 1997 came into force obliging members of the Seanad to furnish statements in relation to single donations exceeding £500 or donations from a single source which had a total exceeding £500.
Cosgrave swore a declaration in January 1998 that he had not received any single donation of more than £500 or one of an aggregate value exceeding £500. This declaration was then submitted to the Public Officers Commissioner on January 29th, 1998.
Judge Delahunt heard that the subject of the offence was a £2,500 (€3,175) cheque received by Cosgrave from a Mr Dunlop.
Cosgrave spoke to gardaí by appointment on June 8th, 2004, following an investigation by the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation. He made no admissions during the interview and refused to sign a memo of interview on the advice of his solicitor.
Mr Clayton agreed with Mr McGinn that Cosgrave, who had no previous convictions, was obliged under legislation to take all reasonable action to be satisfied of the accuracy of the forms he submitted in relation to political donations.
Luan Ó Braonáin, defending, said his client was married with two children, had been a public representative for 21 years and had practised as a solicitor until 2003.
Mr Ó Braonáin said there had been media attention in relation to this offence as a result of a Fine Gael inquiry and his client giving evidence in the Mahon tribunal. Cosgrave's public career had ended and he had "no prospect of re-engaging in it" or of returning to his career as a solicitor.
His client had been "vilified" and "pilloried" in the press, he had been "treated as an outcast" and had lost friends due to his "tainted reputation".
Mr Ó Braonáin said there had been eight volumes of disclosure in the case and that by pleading guilty, his client had avoided the need for a lengthy trial, thereby assisting the prosecution, potential witnesses and the court.
Mr McGinn told Judge Delahunt that the maximum penalties for the offence were either three years imprisonment or a fine of up to €25,000.
Mr Ó Braonáin said this was the first prosecution under the Electoral Act. His client's offence was not one of corruption or bribery, but one of failing to disclose a political donation.
Mr Ó Braonáin said the cheque for £2,500 was received during the 1997 election period which required that Cosgrave visit every local authority councillor in the country. Cosgrave did not keep a record of the donation, which was spent on the election.
Judge Delahunt told Cosgrave that his position as a legislator and member of the legal profession should have made him aware of the ramifications of his actions. He had an unblemished history of public service which was now lost to him and he had already suffered significantly in that he was no longer a public representative or solicitor.
A custodial sentence "may not be appropriate in all the circumstances of this case" and his expertise "may be better put to use in service to the community".
A report on his suitability for such work was ordered and the sentence will be finalised in May.