An elected representative of Kildare County Council who was convicted of criminal damage to a property in south Dublin two years ago in a dispute over payment for work has told a court he was a victim of “gross fraud.”
Tom McDonnell (62), a self-employed builder and father of five from Lakeside Park, Newbridge, Co Kildare, had been remanded on bail to appear before a sitting of Dún Laoghaire District Court on Monday to address the issue of compensation.
However, Mr McDonnell was ordered by Judge Anne Watkin to return again next year with an additional sum of €1,250 to the €1,000 in cash that he had brought to court.
The accused, who was elected as an independent member of Kildare County Council in the local elections in June, had been convicted at an earlier court hearing of causing damage to windows at the rear of a house in Rockville Crescent, Blackrock, Co Dublin on September 6th, 2022, contrary to Section 2 (1) of the Criminal Damage Act 1991.
Counsel for the defendant, John McCoy BL, told Judge Watkin on Monday that the question of compensation was complicated by a related “civil matter.”
Mr McCoy pointed out that a claim for damages had been settled by an insurance company for €16,900.
However, Judge Watkin pointed out that the injured party had lost a no claims bonus which the court heard had cost him €2,250 this year and an uncertain amount in the future.
In response to Mr McCoy’s repeated insistence that his client was unsure what to do because of the uncertainty about the estimate of future losses and the civil matter, the judge retorted: “I don’t think you understand what you are doing here.”
She added: “I’m not concerned about the civil matter.”
The court heard Mr McDonnell believed that the injured party had already been compensated with a sum that exceeded the damage that was done.
Following a brief consultation with his client, Mr McCoy said the defendant was prepared to increase his offer of compensation of €1,000 to the amount of the value of the no claims bonus that had been lost.
Judge Watkin pointed out to the barrister that the whole situation had arisen from the position the injured party had been left in by Mr McDonnell.
Asked to confirm his willingness to pay compensation of €2,250, the defendant said he would but claimed it was “gross fraud.”
“I’m owed €23,000. This is fraud,” Mr McDonnell added.
The judge observed that Mr McDonnell was accusing his victim of fraud “after what you did to him.”
Asked what he was going to do to show remorse, Mr McDonnell said he would require two months to pay the additional amount of compensation.
The case was adjourned with the defendant ordered to appear before a sitting of the same court in January.
Mr McDonnell was elected as an independent councillor for the Newbridge local electoral area of Kildare County Council this summer.
He received 548 first preference votes which equated to 4.7% of the total valid poll.
Mr McDonnell was elected on the 11th and final count to the last of six seats without reaching the quota.
The Kildare man is a co-founder of Éire Saor – an unregistered umbrella group of independent candidates who contested the local elections in Kildare on an anti-immigration platform and to oppose planning permission being granted for centres to house international protection applicants.
Following his election, Mr McDonnell generated widespread controversy over comments he made in which he claimed Irish people were in danger of dying out because Irish women were not breeding enough.
He subsequently expressed regret for his choice of words but explained they were due to his farming background.
Mr McDonnell added that he supported tax incentives being given to working women to have more children.
In a newspaper interview, he stated his belief that a secret cabal of “Khazarian Jews” are running the world and trying to flood Europe with immigrants as part of a plot to replace Irish people.
Mr McDonnell, who is planning to contest the upcoming general election, has denied that he is a far-right politician or anti-immigration but stressed that he was against mass uncontrolled immigration.
