LAST UPDATE | 24 Apr 2023

FIANNA FÁIL TD Niall Collins has issued a statement regarding allegations surrounding the sale of land by Limerick County Council 15 years ago. 

Collins has been the subject of allegations in recent days relating to the disposal of land when he was a local representative for Limerick County Council in 2007 and 2008. 

The reports focused on his attendance at a meeting in 2007 in relation to the disposal of a piece of land that was eventually bought by his wife in 2008. 

In his statement, issued this evening following calls for Dáil time to be given to the issue, Collins said that “in September 2008 at a statutory meeting of the Limerick County Council the sale of a property in Patrickswell was approved and sold following a transparent and open sales process, which was open to all”. 

“For the record I was not a member of the council in September 2008, having been elected as a TD in May 2007. Prior to the sale in 2008, the property was advertised in the local public press,” Collins said. 

However, the focus of the allegations centred on a meeting in January 2007. Referencing that date, Collins said: “When the council executive recommended to the Bruff LEA committee that the property should be put up for sale in January 2007, neither I nor my wife had any pecuniary or beneficial interest in that property. There was no disagreement to the executive’s recommendation.“

Until this evening, he had not commented on the allegations since they were first reported last week. 

Asked by reporters about the allegations last Thursday, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he had full confidence in Collins.

People Before Profit’s Paul Murphy earlier wrote to the Dáil’s business committee to request time this week for Collins to make a statement to fellow TDs about the sale of land in Limerick. 

The Journal has sought clarity from Limerick County Council about the allegations since they were first reported.

However, the council has not responded to requests for documents, which reportedly include details relating to the disposal of the land in question and meetings when decisions about the disposal are reported to have taken place.