The Standards in Public Office (SIPO) commission has decided to drop any further action against Independent TD Michael Lowry arising from the ownership of land in Wigan which he had failed to declare.
The six-person commisson dismissed 388 complaints which followed a public appeal by Eliane Byrne in the wake of an investigation by Conor Ryan of the Irish Examiner.
Mr Ryan, posing as a prospective buyer, was told on tape by Mr Lowry’s land agent that the 22-acre plot, jointly owned with Liam Carroll, could be worth up to €6.7million.
Michael Lowry has responded.
I welcome the fact that 388 orchestrated complaints made against me have been investigated by the Standards in Public Office Commission and have been dismissed as there was no prima facia evidence to sustain any further investigation.
Two journalists working in tandem wrote prominent features making exaggerated and unfounded claims about the value of my shareholding in lands at Wigan. Conor Ryan, Irish Examiner, had a headline article putting a ludicrous value of €6.7 million on the lands. As part of its investigation the Commission sought estimates of the value of my shareholding in the lands in Wigan from two UK, independent, professional valuers. The valuations put the value of my shareholding in the lands at less than €13,000.
Elaine Byrne of the Sunday Independent followed by deliberately activating the 388 complaints, claiming that my Dáil Register of Interests was in contravention of the Ethics in Public Office legislation and demanding an inquiry. The Commission commenced an inquiry and spent considerable financial resources fully investigating the complaints. I am pleased that the Commission has concluded its work and has found that these complaints were unfounded and without substance.
The Commission report found that the 388 complaints, with few exceptions, were phrased similarly. They also found a number of the complaints were submitted from un-contactable addresses, as correspondence from the Commission to the complainant was returned as ‘unknown at this address’. The enquiry also established that some of the filed complaints were lodged without the knowledge of the named complainant and that others indicated that they no direct evidence or information other than what they read in the newspapers.
This type of agenda led, sensationalised journalism is neither fair nor just. Journalists have an entitlement to probe in the public interest but also have an obligation to present the public with factual and correct information. Any competent, professional journalist would not allow themselves to be sucked in and fooled by information passed to them by unreliable sources.
Michael Lowry
Findings Of The Standards In Public Life Commission (Michael Lowry)
Previously:The Byrne Ultimatum
Michael Lowry’s ‘Worthless Land’
(Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland)
