Labour says Senator Denis Landy's 'bribe' claim 'is a matter for himself'

The Labour Party has indicated it does not intend to pursue a claim from Senator Denis Landy that he was offered a trip abroad in order to miss a crucial Seanad vote last month.

THE LABOUR PARTY does not intend to pursue a claim by one of its senators that he was offered a trip abroad to coincide with a vote on the referendum to abolish the Seanad.

Senator Denis Landy made the claim to the Sunday Independent on 21 July but to date has not reported the matter to Oireachtas authorities or the gardaí despite pressure to do so.

Landy told the paper that he was offered a holiday in New York to coincide with a series of votes on the legislation giving effect to the Seanad abolition referendum last month.

Last week TheJournal.ie reported that a complaint had been made by a member of the public to Oireachtas authorities but it is now understood that this complaint is unlikely to be dealt with until the Seanad returns fully in September.

A Labour Party spokesperson has said the matter remains one for Landy himself and indicated that the party does not intend to take any action on it.

The spokesperson said they were “not aware of any further developments” with the Landy issue.

When asked whether the party was concerned that one of its senators had alleged he was approached with an attempted bribe, the spokesperson said: “That’s a matter for himself.”

Landy again failed to respond to calls requesting comment.

Gardaí – who could conceivably investigate the case under the Corruption Act – have said they do not comment on individual cases but it is also now understood that no complaint has been made to them about the matter.

Read: Complaint made over Labour senator Denis Landy’s ‘bribe’ claim

Read: Senator claiming he was offered holiday to skip Seanad vote won’t pursue matter

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