Richard O'Donoghue Alleges 'Inside Trading' by Borbilla Chair
Deputy Richard O'Donoghue accused the chairperson of Borbilla of a complete conflict of interest and said the conduct amounted to inside trading and cartelling under Irish law. He pressed the Taoiseach to address the allegation and refused to withdraw the claim when asked.
Allegation of inside trading
Richard O'Donoghue told the House that, under the Borbilla Act of Governance and Professional Standards and Irish law, the chairperson had full disclosure of Borbilla suppliers and that this amounted to inside trading and cartelling.
Challenge to parliamentary practice
The Deputy framed the issue as a breach of governance and a legal impediment, saying compliance is essential for state bodies and questioning how a person with such disclosures could chair Borbilla.
Taoiseach's response and standing orders
The Taoiseach described the assertion as very serious, asked the Deputy to withdraw the remark and warned it should be taken off the record; members debated whether the claim breached standing orders and noted possible consequences.
Next steps and procedural options
Speakers suggested the matter could be dealt with outside the floor, by complaint or referral to a committee; the exchange ended with the presiding officer moving on to another deputy, leaving the question of further action unresolved.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Deputy Richard O'Donogh. Thank you, John Corley. Taoiseach, Borbilla Act of Governance and Professional Standards. There should be no legal impediments or conflict of interest. Compliance is essential in ensuring the heedens to the practice of governance of state bodies. But yes, Larry Murran is allowed to be chairperson of Borbilla when there is a complete conflict of interest. And under the Act, the Irish law states that, based on that, he's actually inside trading. It's actually cartelling. It is. Would you allow Fianna Gale, General Secretary, to sit inside in your parliamentary, Fianna Fáil parliamentary meeting and listen to all the points that you have? But yet you're allowing Larry Murran to sit as chairperson where he's got the full disclosure of all the Borbilla and suppliers to Borbilla. He has it. That's inside trading under Irish law. Taoiseach, please. That's a very serious assertion, which should be taken off the record. That's in breach of standing orders. It has to be. I didn't hear it. I apologise. Inside trading is a criminal act. Deputy, I'd ask you if you... It is so serious for the people here. It is something that will have to be dealt with. It will have to be dealt with. You're not going to deal with it. Sorry, Deputy, sorry. I leave the question, but the point I'm trying to make is, to me, there's a breach on a point of order. It's on yet. Please. On a point of order, and I don't like having to do this, but it seems to me standing orders... Taoiseach, we will have to deal with it outside standing orders. But I think sometimes on the floor, it's either a clear breach of standing orders or it's not. I've asked the Deputy to withdraw it. I cannot make him withdraw it, Taoiseach. The same goes for all members. The Deputy will have to deal with the consequences of it being on the record. Could I offer something? Like, we've had a history in this House. I don't... This is... Sorry, no, if I may, through the Chair. But there's no point, because he's not going to withdraw it. But when is the House going to get serious about people's names being taken... Standing orders, Taoiseach, your chief whip is behind you, if you wish to put something into standing... No, it's in standing orders. Sorry, it's in standing orders. In a way that the Deputy has refused. I've asked him to withdraw it. No, I know that, but I just want to make a general point before I go on. Don't call me, you all have to finish this. Sorry, excuse me. It's worth making this point. I didn't hear it. That's because the Taoiseach heard it and he's asking you to withdraw. I was having a conversation with the Usher, which shouldn't be the case either. The thing is, we are now in a position... I know you're going to refer to the Committee, but... It will, if there's a complaint made it, Taoiseach. This is going on for quite a long time. And I would reiterate to all members... No, but it's talking about a casualism and a nonchalance now that's making a joke of the standing orders. It's not a joke by any means, Taoiseach. It's all members have a responsibility to follow. And that is it. I move now to Deputy Mayor.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
