The businessman who paid individuals to hang election posters of Paschal Donohoe was appointed to the board of the Land Development Agency (LDA) by former housing minister Eoghan Murphy, the Irish Mirror has learned.
However, the Public Expenditure Minister has insisted that he did not recommend Michael Stone for the position on the State body.
While a spokesperson for Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien confirmed to the Irish Mirror that the LDA Ordinary Board member fee is currently set at €15,750 a year, the agency stated that Mr Stone has “waived his remuneration fee since the outset of his involvement with the Agency and does not claim expenses”.
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Mr Stone is the owner of the Dublin-based engineering company Designer Group.
It emerged in recent days that a complaint had been lodged with the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) over an allegation that Mr Donohoe had failed to declare all expsnese incurred during the 2016 General Election.
He confirmed at a press conference on Sunday evening that Mr Stone had made “personal payments” to six people who erected and took down election posters of the Fine Gael TD in Dublin Central. The total payments amounted to €1,100.
The Irish Mirror has now learned that Mr Stone was appointed to the board of the Government’s Land Development Agency (LDA) in January 2019 by former Fine Gael Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy.
Mr Murphy confirmed in a parliamentary question to Sinn Féin’s Eoin Ó Broin in February 2019 that he had made the appointment.
He said: “I have appointed an interim Board with a mix of public and private sector skills and expertise relevant to the objectives of the LDA.”
Mr Stone is also listed as a board member in the LDA’s Annual Report for 2019.
His description read: “Michael Stone is Chief Executive of the Designer Group, an engineering contracting business which he founded in 1992 and has offices in Ireland, the UK, Germany, Africa and the USA. He is a former President of the Construction Industry Federation (CIF). Earlier in his career he worked for the ESB. He is currently Chairperson of the Implementation Board for the North East Inner City Regeneration Programme.”
The same description is still being used on the LDA’s website. Company information website Vision-Net lists Mr Stone as a director of the agency.
A spokesperson for the LDA confirmed to the Irish Mirror that Mr Stone was first appointed to the “interim board of the Agency shortly after its formation in January 2019 and reappointed in December 2021 when the current entity was established pursuant to the commencement of the LDA Act 2021”.
A spokesperson for Minister Donohoe, meanwhile, said that the TD did not recommend Mr Stone for the position to Mr Murphy.
The Public Expenditure Minster has amended his election expenses form for 2016 by €1,057. This includes €140 the use of a commercial van and €917 for labour.
Mr Stone was appointed chairman of the North East Inner City initiative by former Taoiseach Enda Kenny in 2017. While it was suggested that Mr Donohoe put Mr Stone’s name forward for this role, he stated that he has “never been involved in any decisions regarding the operation of that board”.
The Irish Mirror contacted Mr Stone and Mr Murphy for comment about how the appointment to the LDA was made.
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