RENUA LEADER LUCINDA Creighton has hit out about a complaint made about her to the Standards In Public Office Commission (SIPO).

This follows a report in today’s Sunday Independent newspaper that a complaint was submitted anonymously to the body on 5 February.

The complaint relates to a ‘benefit in kind’ that the Renua leader allegedly received. A complaint relating to the same matter was rejected by the commission last year.

In a strongly worded statement this morning, Creighton said that the use of an anonymous complaint as part of “a political dirty tricks campaign” is “particularly troubling”.

She went on to say:

“The importance of creating a culture of ethics in a country whose people have suffered heavily because of a culture of bad politics means any attempt to use SIPO as a political pawn by a party or individual is an act of corruption.

Anonymity is a privilege not a right.

The Dublin Bay South candidate also called for anyone who has any information about whether this is a planned campaign to come forward and “swiftly inform the authorities”.

The newspaper has reported that the case is set to be discussed by SIPO at its next meeting in March.

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