Ivor Callely (born 6 May 1958) is an Irish former politician who served as a
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...
(TD) for the
Dublin North-Central constituency from 1989 to 2007 and a member of
Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house).
It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...
from 2007 to 2011, having been
nominated
A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example:
* to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs.
* ...
by the
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
,
Bertie Ahern
Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste a ...
. Between 2002 and 2005 he served as a
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...
.
He resigned from the Fianna Fáil party on 24 August 2010 due to an
expenses scandal.
Early life
Callely was born in
Clontarf, Dublin and was educated at
St Paul's College, Raheny
St Paul's College in Raheny, Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, is a Roman Catholic Education in the Republic of Ireland, secondary school Single-sex education#Ireland, for boys under the trusteeship of the Vincentian Fathers, formally the ...
.
Politics
Callely first became involved in politics in 1985 when he was elected to
Dublin Corporation
Dublin Corporation (), known by generations of Dubliners simply as ''The Corpo'', is the former name of the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin since the 1100s. Significantly re-structured in 1660-1661, even more sign ...
. He was an unsuccessful candidate at the
1987 general election but was elected to
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...
at the
1989 general election and held his seat at the three subsequent general elections.
In 1991 he became the youngest chairperson of the
Eastern Health Board. Between 1993 and 1995 he served as Assistant
Chief Whip
The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes.
United Kingdom
...
in Fianna Fáil. From 1995 to 1997 he served as Fianna Fáil Policy Co-ordinator. At the
1997 general election he received the fifth highest vote in the country. This was followed up at the 1999 local elections when he received the highest vote in the country.
In 2002 Callely was appointed by the
government of Bertie Ahern as
Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children with special responsibility for services for older people.
In a reshuffle in September 2004, he was appointed
Minister of State at the Department of Transport
The Minister of State at the Department of Transport is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Transport of the Government of Ireland who may perform functions delegated by the Minister for Transport. A Minister of State does not hold ca ...
with special responsibility for certain traffic management issues in Dublin and the major cities, road haulage and the
Irish Aviation Authority
The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) ( ga, Údaras Eitlíochta na hÉireann) is a commercial semi-state company in Republic of Ireland, Ireland responsible for the regulation of safety aspects of air travel. It is also responsible for providing air ...
.
His announcements about railway projects attracted the nickname "Ivor the Engine".
On 8 December 2005, Callely resigned his ministerial post after an
RTÉ News
RTÉ News and Current Affairs ( ga, Nuacht agus Cúrsaí Reatha RTÉ), also known as RTÉ News (''Nuacht RTÉ''), is the national news service provided by Irish public broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Its services include local, nationa ...
report that a building contractor involved in public contracts had painted his house for free in the early 1990s. It was also revealed that Callely had offered to personally buy a new car for one of his civil service advisers, in an attempt to persuade the adviser not to leave their job. Callely's department had an unusually high turnover of staff for some time under his stewardship.
Callely lost his seat at the
2007 general election and was also unsuccessful at the Seanad elections for the
Industrial and Commercial Panel
The Industrial and Commercial Panel ( ga, An Rolla Tionscail Agus Tráchtála) is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Ind ...
in 2007. He was subsequently
appointed by the
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
Bertie Ahern to the Seanad. He did not contest the
2011 general election or the 2011 Seanad election.
[
On 4 April 2011, Callely was fined €60 in court for using a mobile phone while driving.
]
Complaint to Standards Commission
In 2005, the Standards in Public Office Commission
The Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) ( ga, Coimisiún um Chaighdeáin in Oifigí Poiblí) is an independent body established in December 2001 by the Irish Government under the Standards in Public Office Act, 2001. It replaced the Public ...
received a complaint regarding an advertisement for the ''Operation Freeflow'' system which outlined traffic and travel arrangements in Dublin in the pre-Christmas period, and which featured a photograph of Callely, then Minister of State. The complainant was of the view that the Minister's appearance in the advertisement was a direct contravention of section 2.2.3 of the Code of Conduct for Office Holders as outlined above. The Standards Commission wrote to the complainant advising that they did not consider that the inclusion of a photograph of an office holder in an advertisement relating to a matter which encompassed his functions as an office holder was necessarily inappropriate. However, it also considered that the provisions of the code were insufficiently clear so as to distinguish between the appropriate use of a photograph of an office holder as part of a necessary advertising campaign and an inappropriate raising of profile in the context of a general election. The Standards Commission wrote to the Taoiseach and requested that the provisions of section 2.2.3 of the Code of Conduct for office holders be reviewed in order that office holders are provided with clear guidelines as to the circumstances in which public resources can be used in a way which avoids the inappropriate raising of profile in the context of a general election.
Expenses scandal
On 30 May 2010, a Freedom of Information Act request revealed Callely had claimed expenses totalling €81,015 since 2007 for overnight and travel expenses to a house in County Cork
County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...
. Callely said that following the loss of his Dáil seat in 2007, he took up residence in Cork. After his nomination to the Seanad, Callely informed Oireachtas
The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:
*The President of Ireland
*The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...
officials in December 2007 that his "current principal residence" was Kilcrohane
Kilcrohane () is a village in County Cork, Ireland. It is the last coastal village on the Sheep's Head Peninsula after Durrus and Ahakista. Kilcrohane lies under the 'Shadow of Seefin' (the area's highest hill) and is also close to Caher Mounta ...
, Bantry
Bantry () is a town in the civil parish of Kilmocomoge in the barony of Bantry on the southwest coast of County Cork, Ireland. It lies in West Cork at the head of Bantry Bay, a deep-water gulf extending for to the west. The Beara Peninsula is ...
in County Cork, which is 370 km from Leinster House
Leinster House ( ga, Teach Laighean) is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it is a complex of buildings, of which the former ducal palace is the core, ...
.[ The '']Irish Independent
The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis.
The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines.
Traditionally a broadsheet new ...
'' reported that he was still politically active in Dublin, ran a constituency office on the northside of Dublin and attended Fianna Fáil meetings locally. Following pressure from the then Taioseach Brian Cowen
Brian Bernard Cowen (born 10 January 1960) is an Irish former politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 2008 to 2011.
Cowen was elected to Dáil Éireann in 1984, for the constituency of Laois–Offaly and served in a ...
, Callely resigned the Fianna Fáil party whip on 5 June 2010. He claimed a €140 "overnight" allowance on hundreds of occasions when attending the Seanad – even though he stayed in his Dublin home on the nights in question.
Following further revelations about Callely's expenses in August 2010, he was suspended without prejudice from the Fianna Fáil party pending the outcome of an internal investigation. A further complaint against Callely followed later that month and he resigned from the Fianna Fáil organisation on 24 August.[
]
Arrests and conviction
Callely was arrested on 25 January 2012 concerning allegations he had used forged receipts for mobile phone kits. He was arrested again in April 2013, and taken to Clontarf Garda Station, where he was charged in connection with alleged fraud and theft offences. The charges were reported to relate to an ongoing investigation about the alleged use of false invoices to claim expenses for the purchase of mobile phones. Later that day he was charged with six counts of using fraudulent instruments in the Dublin Criminal Courts of Justice. In March 2014, Callely pleaded guilty to making false mobile phone expenses claims while a member of the Oireachtas, and was convicted in July 2014 and sentenced to 5 months in prison. In passing sentence, Judge Mary Ellen Ring
Mary Ellen Ring (born 1955) is an Irish lawyer who currently serves as a Judge of the High Court. She was the Chairperson of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission between 2015 and 2021. She formerly practised as a barrister and was a Judge ...
ruled that Callely's position at the time was an aggravating factor and said that a prison term was demanded by the public interest. He served his sentence at Wheatfield Prison
Wheatfield Place of Detention () is a closed, medium security prison located on Cloverhill Road, Clondalkin, Dublin 22. It receives male prisoners of 17 years of age and older from the counties of Louth, Meath, Monaghan, Wexford and Wicklow. It ...
in Clondalkin, Dublin.
Separately, on 27 April 2012, Callely was fined €150 in court for driving without an NCT disc displayed.
In May 2012, the ''Irish Independent
The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis.
The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines.
Traditionally a broadsheet new ...
'' reported that Callely was overpaid almost €6,000 in mileage expenses while he was a Minister of State from 2004 to 2005. This error (separate to the invoice fraud) was discovered in 2010 but he had refused to pay back the money. When Callely was asked by the Department of Transport to make proposals for repayment on a goodwill basis, he replied that due to the need to devote his energy to other proceedings he was not in a position to deal with the issue at that time.[
In May 2016 a bench order was again issued for Callely's arrest, when he failed to attend a court sitting relating to non-payment of a debt. It was subsequently reported on Tuesday 17 May that Callely had already made arrangements to pay this debt and therefore did not need to appear in court. This was explained as a breakdown in communication. It was reported on Wednesday 18 May however that this was not the case, that there was no breakdown of communication and that no arrangements had been made to pay the debt.]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Callely, Ivor
1958 births
Living people
Fianna Fáil TDs
Independent members of Seanad Éireann
Irish politicians convicted of crimes
Local councillors in Dublin (city)
Members of the 23rd Seanad
Members of the 26th Dáil
Members of the 27th Dáil
Members of the 28th Dáil
Members of the 29th Dáil
Ministers of State of the 29th Dáil
People educated at St Paul's College, Raheny
Politicians convicted of fraud
Nominated members of Seanad Éireann
Fianna Fáil senators