THE INDEPENDENT COUNCILLOR who told an undercover RTÉ reporter that he wanted “loads of money” for his help on a business deal has been re-elected.
Hugh McElvaney, a former Fine Gael representative, has now been elected to Monaghan County Council for the 10th successive time over 46 years.
The councillor was reelected this afternoon to the Ballybay-Clones electoral area on the third count.
McElvaney is a four-time mayor and has been re-elected in the council in the Ballybay-Clones electoral area. The area was noteworthy for having five seats available and just six candidates.
In an RTÉ documentary broadcast in 2015, McElvaney was recorded speaking to a journalist posing as a businesswoman and asking, “are you going to pay me by the hour or by the job?”.
“Ten grand would be a start,” he adds.
Speaking after the documentary was aired, McElvaney said he was “taking the piss out of RTÉ” by playing along with the sting operation.
Another candidate who appeared in the same documentary is John O’Donnell, who yesterday topped the poll in the Milford area in Donegal.
In the documentary, O’Donnell was filmed discussing zoning decisions and expresses confidence that he’ll be able to lobby other councillors.
Earlier this year, the Standards in Public Office Commission found against O’Donnell in respect of three alleged contraventions.
Sligo’s Joe Queenan, who resigned from Fianna Fáil in the immediate aftermath of the programme, also looks set to be re-elected and increase his vote on 2014′s election.
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