Gardaí decided against investigating Niall Collins over land sale

Gardaí told Minister of State Niall Collins last year that there would be no prosecution on foot of a complaint against him relating to the sale of local authority land to his wife in 2007.People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy lodged a complaint with the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo) – the State’s ethics watchdog – in 2023 after online publication The Ditch reported that Collins had voted to sell public land in Limerick that his wife subsequently bought.Last week Sipo told Murphy that it was proceeding to conduct a preliminary investigation into his complaint against Collins. This process will decide if a full investigation is warranted. Sipo declined to answer a number of questions from The Irish Times about the process.Collins, who is a junior minister at the Department of Agriculture and has been a Fianna Fáil TD since 2007, also declined to comment.READ MOREIt is understood, however, that the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau, having received a similar complaint to Sipo, conducted an assessment of the complaints that concluded early last year, after which it was decided that no criminal investigation should take place. In a statement to The Irish Times, the Garda said: “An Garda Síochána carried out an assessment of an allegation of alleged breaches of the Local Government Act 2001 in the Southern Garda Region. The assessment determined that a criminal investigation was not warranted. An Garda Síochána did not commence a criminal investigation.”Sipo declined to say when it became aware of the outcome of the Garda assessment of the complaint.It said that “due to the nature of Sipo’s role as an impartial oversight body, it would be inappropriate to provide a comment on any complaint that may or may not have been received”. However, complainants often release details of their interactions with the commission.Murphy has confirmed that Sipo now intends to conduct a preliminary investigation. Sipo said that it conducts follow-up inquiries in fewer than 5 per cent of cases. This is understood to be the stage that Sipo has now embarked upon with the Collins complaint. It opens a formal investigation in fewer than 1 per cent of cases.[ Niall Collins accuses media of ‘misinformation’ regarding Aughinish AluminaOpens in new window ]In a statement to the Dáil in 2023, Collins confirmed that he had take part in a discussion on selling the site at the Bruff local area committee in 2007, which was subsequently bought by his wife, who was the highest bidder. By the time the council approved the sale of the site, Collins was no longer a member, having been elected to the Dáil.“In hindsight, given the focus and perception which has arisen, it would have been better if I had not taken part in the local area committee meeting. However, it was my understanding and remains the same today, that I was not participating in a discussion or a decision that in any way contravenes the 2001 Local Government Act. No law was broken,” he said.