THE STANDARDS IN Public Office (Sipo) Commission has written to Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe this week to notify him that a complaint made against him regarding donations from businessman Michael Stone is now closed and that no further action will be taken.
Donohoe came under fire in January after it was revealed by the Sunday Independent that Stone had paid six people to put up election posters for him during the 2016 campaign.
These services, valued at approximately €1,057, were said to be given as a donation to the Fine Gael Dublin Central office.
Under Sipo rules, all donations to individual candidates are capped at €1,000.
The minister and Dublin Central TD, appeared in the Dáil to make a statement on the matter, where he detailed that Stone had bought Fine Gael ‘superdraw’ tickets from him in both 2020 and 2021.
Tickets sold by Donohoe to Stone in 2020 amounted to €334, while tickets sold to Stone in 2021 amounted to €1,382.
Donohoe apologised over his failure to declare the donation of services to the ethics watchdog in 2016.
Today, SIPO stated that an amendment Donohoe made to his election returns in January is “consistent with the Commission’s approach to compliance” and that the matter was “not of sufficient gravity” to warrant investigation.
Donohoe said: “I am grateful to the Commission for its work, I regret that this issue occurred and I welcome that it has now been definitively dealt with. I also want to thank the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, Minister Ryan and all of my colleagues in Government for their support.”
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