A probe has found no substantiation for claims that Dublin City Council (DCC) compensated building firms for protection money given to lawbreakers concerning construction sites in Ballyfermot. In 2019, The High Court was informed that Derek “Dee Dee” O’Driscoll, aged 46 from Meagans Lane, Crooksling, Saggart, Co Dublin, and David Reilly, aged 36 from Croftgrove, Ballyfermot, were the receivers of extortion funds from three construction companies involved in building projects for the council and a sanctioned housing body.
Patrick Butler, a retired senior counsel, was assigned to determine the city council’s involvement in the scheme by Eoghan Murphy, the previous housing minister. The report findings, if not the report itself, have now been presented to Richard Shakespeare, the DCC chief executive, and the council’s members.
Fiona Quinn, an assistant secretary from the department, summarised the report by stating that there was no evidence from staff interviews or scrutiny of council contracts, invoices, and payment procedures to suggest that the DCC compensated the contracts for the payments. The Garda Síochána informed the department in November that an examination into the affair has ended with the Director of Public Prosecutions deciding not to press charges. Butler’s findings didn’t suggest any awareness, on part of DCC’s upper management, regarding the protection money payments.
Reviewing the approved housing body, Butler didn’t find any indication whether management suspected or had knowledge of the payments. In conclusion, Quinn stated that neither the management of DCC nor the approved housing body sought to understand the on-goings at the construction site. Employees from both organisations were questioned about the criminal activities at the three sites, but management did not follow up and educate themselves about the nature of these interviews. Therefore, the individuals involved couldn’t assist the minister effectively, given the lack of basic inquiry.
Mr Butler identified robust administrative controls over the contracts for both sites overseen by DCC, noting no apparent susceptibility to blackmail during the tendering procedures. One notable suggestion emerging from the probe advices that regulated housing entities that receive public funds should incorporate a clause in their contracts necessitating any site security to align with the Private Security Services Act 2004, with the agency overseeing this aspect of the contract.
Further recommendations include the instruction to all municipal bodies staff to instantly report any instance of the kind of harassment witnessed on the sites under Mr Butler’s examination. “Upon receiving such instances, local authorities are compelled to promptly alert An Garda Síochána,” stated Ms Quinn.
In the 2019 High Court proceedings that culminated in asset confiscations worth nearly €300,000, evidence was presented implying that two council employees had proposed enlisting the services of the criminals. The court likewise heard that the two felons under investigation by the Cab were implicated in narcotics trafficking and an array of other unlawful conduct.