Statement: Court Decision in Calley Case Disappointing
14 January 2011
STATEMENT BY SEN IVANA BACIK
Labour Party Seanad Spokesperson on Justice
Friday, 14 January 2011
COURT DECISION IN CALLELY CASE DISAPPOINTING – BACIK
The High Court's overturning of the Seanad Committee on Members' Interests decision to suspend Senator Ivor Callely from the House last July, is disappointing.
The Committee undertook a rigorous examination of all the circumstances surrounding the case, and the consensus view was that their conclusion was the right one.
There is certainly a great deal of ambiguity surrounding the definition of a member's ‘normal place of residence'. Allowing a Senator to maintain more than normal place of residence for the purpose of claiming expenses makes a mockery of the system, and the end result of this controversy is that politics has been dragged further into disrepute.
ENDS