THE MEATH county manager yesterday told the elected members that he has asked for an “independent review” into the circumstances which resulted in a judgement for more than €4 million being made against the council following legal action by Darlington Properties Ltd.
Last month Mr Justice Peter Kelly accused the council of “bungling and ineptitude of a high order” in relation to the sale of a parcel of land in Ashbourne to the company for €4.51 million in 2006. The council has since said it is appealing to the Supreme Court the size of the damages awarded and yesterday the county manager Tom Dowling said “the council is advised that the grounds for appeal are realistic and strong”.
“It is important that I point out that the council did not dispute the specific facts of this case, nor does it now. The council believes and argues that there were many mitigating factors which should influence the amount, if any, to be awarded to the claimants,” Mr Dowling told the councillors.
However, he said he appreciated “this case has given rise to questions”. He also said that he acknowledged and regretted that mistakes were made.
Mr Dowling said the ruling would not have an effect on the day-to-day running of council services but lessons should be learned.
“I have therefore decided, without prejudice to the ongoing case, that an independent review into all the circumstances which led to the council being in this position should be conducted,” he said.
He added that he has invited “two eminent people with suitable expertise to lead this review – Mr Gerry Kearney and Mr John Quinlivan”.
Mr Kearney is a former secretary general and former assistant secretary with the Revenue Commissioners. Mr Quinlivan is a member of the Local Government Efficiency Review Group and former Louth county manager.
There was no timescale outlined for the report and the terms of reference are to examine “all aspects” of the High Court proceedings.
The council also debated a motion from Cllr Brian Fitzgerald (Ind) calling for all the legal information in the file relating to the case to be made available to the county councillors.
However, legal advice was that only certain documents should be made available in case the appeal to the Supreme Court is compromised or prejudiced.