MINISTER FOR Transport Leo Varadkar has given backing to Dublin South TD Olivia Mitchell who was criticised in the final report of the planning tribunal, which described her acceptance of a £500 donation from disgraced lobbyist Frank Dunlop as “inappropriate”.
In comments that could be interpreted as support for his Fine Gael colleague, Mr Varadkar has drawn a distinction between the report’s findings on Ms Mitchell and those on other Fine Gael councillors who were found to have acted “entirely inappropriately” or corruptly.
Mr Varadkar said last night he did not think Ms Mitchell would resign her mandate. His comments come days before an internal party disciplinary committee makes recommendations to party leader and Taoiseach Enda Kenny on what action, if any, should be taken in relation to her and two other Fine Gael councillors.
The matter is highly sensitive for Fine Gael as it wants to be seen to fully back the work of tribunals of inquiry. A number of TDs confirmed yesterday Ms Mitchell was adamant she would resign from the Dáil if the party censures her. The issue is further complicated by the fact Ms Mitchell was one of the TDs who opposed Mr Kenny during the party’s leadership battle in June 2010.
Mr Varadkar last night referred to the less serious finding made by the tribunal against Ms Mitchell compared to her Fine Gael colleagues.
“Anybody who reads the report will see that the language used against Olivia Mitchell is very different to the language used against other people,” Mr Varadkar told RTÉ’s Week in Politics programme.
Ms Mitchell, then a councillor, received a donation of £500 from lobbyist Frank Dunlop during the general election campaign in 1992.
She met Mr Dunlop and Owen O’Callaghan, developer of the Quarryvale project, a number of times.
She was one of a number of Fine Gael members who have been the subject of an inquiry by an internal Fine Gael disciplinary committee in the wake of the tribunal’s findings.
The committee may make recommendations later this week on what disciplinary action, if any, should be taken against Ms Mitchell and Councillors Therese Ridge and Anne Devitt. Ms Devitt stood aside from the party pending the outcome of the inquiry. Possible actions could include censure, expulsion from the parliamentary party, or expulsion from the party itself.
The tribunal said the evidence was Ms Mitchell did not solicit the contribution in November 1992.
