Money for not objecting to planning

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DeeKie

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This is an interesting story. I’d no idea that taking money for not objecting is potentially a crime. However I suppose if it was not it would be easy to abuse the system.


m.independent.ie

South Dublin planning saga: Lawyer leaves top firm over €225k demand

A senior lawyer has left Ireland’s largest law firm, Matheson, over a demand for a payment to not object to planning permission for a housing development.
m.independent.ie m.independent.ie
 
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I can’t see where the fraud would be.

I assume there are generic legal prohibitions on attempting to pervert the planning system.
 
I think it’s an alleged crime. But I didn’t know that it could be a crime. Is it extortion or something like that? Anyone know what fraud the fraud squad would consider with similar facts?
 
Only have newspaper articles to go on here but it's potentially a breech of the Criminal Justice (corruption offences) act 2018 which states

A person who, either directly or indirectly, by himself or herself or with another person— (a) corruptly requests, or corruptly accepts or obtains or corruptly agrees to accept, a gift, consideration or advantage to a person as an inducement to, or reward for, or otherwise on account of, any person doing an act in relation to his or her office, employment, position or business shall be guilty of an offence.

So it may not be a direct breech of planning legislation but a breech of other legislation.
 
Very interesting case.

A homeowner will often object to a development on the grounds that it would reduce the value of their home.
So if the developer said - "We will pay compensation of €50,000 each to the local residents if they don't object" , would that be a crime?
It seems ok to me.
So if the residents request €50,000 to compensate them, then I don't see anything wrong with it.


Brendan
 
Brendan Burgess said:
So if the residents request €50,000 to compensate them, then I don't see anything wrong with it.
Click to expand...
This is the Coase Theorem in application! There are advocates of a legal system of compensation for existing homeowners disturbed by new dwellings and there are arguments that it is a win-win for existing and new homeowners alike as more land gets built on.

But I digress a bit.
 
And just to clarify the issues

The demand has been referred to gardaí after the developer reported a potential fraud.

The garda fraud squad has received the correspondence from the developers, alleging criminality.

The only person alleging fraud is the developer.

Brendan
 
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