The Government is moving to tighten laws for elected representatives after it emerged the legal obligation for newly elected TDs to produce a tax clearance certificate is not strong enough to prevent veteran criminal Gerry Hutch from running in an upcoming byelection and taking his Dáil seat, should he win.
Hutch (62), known as The Monk, contested last year’s general election, when he secured 3,100 first-preference votes in the Dublin Central constituency. Since then, he has been served with a tax demand for almost €800,000 by the Criminal Assets Bureau and the Revenue Commissioners. That means his tax affairs are no longer in order, though they were for many years.
The Standards in Public Office Act 2001 legally obliges any new member of the Oireachtas to produce a tax clearance certificate on taking up a seat. However, The Irish Times revealed at the weekend that a lacuna in the law means Hutch’s inability to produce a certificate would not stop him taking a Dáil seat.
There is no enforcement power or sanction in the legislation, which means while the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo) could investigate Hutch for being non-compliant, and draw up a report, it has no powers beyond that. The Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation has confirmed there is no other legislation covering a non-tax compliant new TD.
RM Block
In reply to queries, the department said “proposals to reform the legislative framework are currently being prepared by the Minister’s department for consideration by the Government”. It was unclear when Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers will be presented with the proposals and whether they could be enacted in time for the Dublin Central byelection, due to take place around next April or May, to fill the seat of former minister for finance Paschal Donohoe.
Hutch ran in the constituency during the general election in November 2024, and came close to winning the fourth and final seat. He was beaten in transfers by Marie Sherlock TD (Labour).
The department said the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 – amended and supplemented by the Standards in Public Office Act 2001 – empowers members of the Oireachtas to sanction a colleague who Sipo finds “contravened their tax clearance obligations”.
The members could vote on a motion for “the suspension of the member for up to 30 sitting days”. Furthermore, if Sipo or the Committee on Members’ Interests is satisfied a tax-compliance contravention is ongoing “the suspension of the member until such time as they take specific steps to secure compliance”.
However, newly elected TDs cannot be blocked from taking up their seat if they are not tax compliant. And while they can be suspended from the Dáil for their noncompliance, they cannot lose their seat. There is also nothing in legislation blocking a candidate from running in an election because their tax affairs are not in order.
