World of Politics with Harry McGee

The Ditch is an unusual creature on the Irish media landscape. It’s an investigative website which has specialised in exposing politicians and political operators who have made public declarations about their interests that don’t stand up to scrutiny.  The Ditch has made its name for intensive detailed investigations into the property dealings of elected representatives. It is a niche area, but its investigations have been highly impactful; and have resulted in the downfall of two Ministers of State, Robert Troy and Damian English, in the past year.

The two journalists behind the site are avowedly left-wing and often target TDs who have a lot of property, or are landlords, or are both.

They do deep dives into the property files, scouring the land registry, submitting Freedom of Information requests to the local planning authorities, and looking through the classified section of local newspapers to see in planning applications were actually lodged.

And it has yielded results.

Twice in the past few months they have forced the Limerick TD and Minister of State Niall Collins to come into the Dáil and make statements clarifying his role in planning applications involving himself and his wife Dr Eimear O’Connor. This week it was about the purchase of a site in Patrickswell, Co Limerick, by his wife Eimear in 2008.

Like many of these investigations into property transactions, the issues revolve around very fine detail and very specific events.

In this instance, it is a decision taken by councillors at a meeting of the Bruff Local Electoral Area Committee in January 2007.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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