Cullen exonerated in two inquiries over awarding of lucrative contracts

It was shortly after the relationship between Monica Leech and Martin Cullen was first raised in public in December 2004 that Ms Leech was libelled by a caller on RTE's Liveline programme.

The awarding of two contracts to Ms Leech created huge pressure on Mr Cullen, who was eventually exonerated by two separate inquiries, though not without suggestions that his actions could have led to a "perception of impropriety".

The controversy began in 2001 when Ms Leech was appointed as a regional information co-ordinator for the Office of Public Works (OPW) in Waterford, on the recommendation of Mr Cullen who was then a minister of state with responsibility for the OPW.

She was paid €23,610 in total for her work, which ended with the general election of 2002.

When Mr Cullen was appointed as minister for the environment after the election, he told civil servants he needed professional PR advice and recommended Ms Leech be appointed to fulfil the role.

Ms Leech was paid €7,800 for 12 days a month, a rate that worked out at €650 a day.

Eventually, her job was put out to tender, a process that ended with Ms Leech being awarded the contract at a rate of €800 a day for a three-day week.

She was eventually paid €303,000 for her contract with the department, which lasted two years and three months and involved work on the National Spatial Strategy, the Race Against Waste campaign and the EU presidency.

A 45-page report by the former chairman of the Revenue Commissioners Dermot Quigley cleared Mr Cullen of any wrongdoing.

However, Mr Quigley suggested that it could lead to a perception of impropriety and he was critical of many aspects of her appointment.

He noted that he could find no parallel for the work that Ms Leech did in Waterford for the OPW in any other regional location, and the extent of the contract awarded to her by the department was in excess of the threshold at which an EU procurement process should have been triggered.

A subsequent investigation by the Standards in Public Office Commission found there was not enough evidence to investigate a claim against Mr Cullen under either the Standards in Public Office Act or the Ethics in Public Office Act.