Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan has blamed a "narrow interpretation" of a parliamentary question for why he provided incorrect information to the Dáil on the full remuneration package of former garda commissioner Drew Harris.
The Labour Party’s Spokesperson on Justice Alan Kelly has accused the minister of misleading the house and has demanded further explanation.
In October, Mr Kelly put down a parliamentary question seeking information on the remuneration deal for the former garda commissioner.
In response, the Minister for Justice detailed the salary paid to Mr Harris.
However, his reply did not contain information on a secret arrangement for An Garda Síochána to pay Mr Harris’ rent on a property in the Phoenix Park.
It emerged on Thursday that the former Garda Commissioner did not pay rent on his home on the Spa Road during his tenure as Garda Commissioner.
Instead, An Garda Síochána leased the property from the Office of Public Works (OPW) at an annual rent of €21,000 from 2018 to 2025.
The Public Accounts Committee heard that the rent was not increased during that period even though rents were rising rapidly.
Mr Kelly has said the minister needs to come into the Dáil to put everything on the record on what he said was a "disturbing and worrying issue".
A spokesperson for the Minister for Justice said the response to Mr Kelly’s parliamentary question was incomplete.
They said: "The minister acknowledges that the reply should have contained complete information regarding the former commissioner's remuneration package.
"This would have included a rental agreement between An Garda Síochána and the OPW, and an entitlement to a pension contribution equivalent to 18.4% of salary which was waived by the former commissioner."
She added that Minister O’Callaghan intends to write to Mr Kelly to clarify the matter.
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Today, Minister of State at the Department of Justice Niall Collins said that he was sure the individual concerned had paid benefit in kind to the Revenue.
He told RTÉ Radio 1’s Saturday with Cormac Ó hEadhra that the garda commissioner was on call 24/7 and had to be available within the Greater Dublin Area, close to the Phoenix Park.
Mr Collins added that the rent should have been increased.
In a statement today, the Department of Justice said that the Policing Authority had advised the Minister for Justice in 2017 on the terms that should apply for a new Garda Commissioner.
The department said that it accepted the recommendation that "in the case of a successful external candidate, it may be appropriate to provide for accommodation or an accommodation allowance given the requirement for the Garda Commissioner to reside in Dublin, and in light of the fact that the commissioner is on call 24/7 throughout the year".
The current Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly was already resident in the State when he was appointed and the department has confirmed that no such rent arrangement is in place.
The OPW has also said that €400,000 worth of refurbishments were carried out on the property before it was leased to An Garda Síochána.
However, OPW chairman John Conlon stressed that the works were not done in preparation for that lease.
