Ivor Callely

Ivor Callely (born 6 May 1958) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He is a member of the 23rd Seanad Éireann, appointed on 3 August 2007 as a nominee of the Taoiseach. He was formerly a Teachta Dála (TD) for Dublin North Central from 1989 to 2007 and was a Minister of State between 2002 and 2005.

Ivor Callely was born in Clontarf, Dublin and was educated locally. He first became involved in politics in 1985 when he was elected to Dublin Corporation. Callely was first elected to Dáil Éireann at 1989 general election and has held his seat in the three subsequent general elections. In 1991 he became the youngest chairperson of the Eastern Health Board. In the 1997 general election he received the fifth highest vote in the country. This was followed up in the Local Elections of 1999 when he received the highest vote in the country. Between 1993 and 1995 he served as Assistant Chief Whip in Fianna Fáil. Until 1997 he served as Policy Co-ordinator.A.K.A "Ivor the Fiver".

In 2002 Callely was appointed Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children with special responsibility for services for older people. In Bertie Ahern's Cabinet reshuffle of 2004 he became Minister of State at the Department of Transport where he had special responsibility for certain traffic management issues in Dublin and the major cities, road haulage and the Irish Aviation Authority.

On 8 December 2005, he resigned his cabinet post after an RTÉ News report that a building contractor involved in public contracts had painted his house for free in the early 1990s. It was also revealed that Callely had offered to personally buy a new car for one of his civil service advisers, in an attempt to persuade the adviser not to leave their job. Apparently, Callely's department had an unusually high turnover of staff for some time under his stewardship.

He lost his seat at the 2007 general election and was also unsuccessful in the Seanad elections for the Industrial and Commercial Panel in 2007.

Complaint to Standards Commission

The Standards in Public Office Commission received a complaint regarding an advertisement for the Operation Freeflow system which outlined traffic and travel arrangements in Dublin in the pre-Christmas period, and which featured a photograph of Callely, then Minister of State. The complainant was of the view that the Minister's appearance in the advertisement was a direct contravention of section 2.2.3 of the Code of Conduct for Office Holders as outlined above. Having considered the matter, the Standards Commission wrote to the complainant advising that the Standards Commission did not consider that the inclusion of a photograph of an office holder in an advertisement relating to a matter which encompassed his or her functions as an office holder was necessarily inappropriate. However, it also considered that the provisions of the code were insufficiently clear so as to distinguish between the appropriate use of a photograph of an office holder as part of a necessary advertising campaign and an inappropriate raising of profile in the context of a general election. The Standards Commission wrote to the Taoiseach and requested that the provisions of section 2.2.3 of the Code of Conduct for Office Holders be reviewed in order that office holders are provided with clear guidelines as to the circumstances in which public resources can be used in a way which avoids the inappropriate raising of profile in the context of a general election. [ [http://sipo.gov.ie/en/Reports/AnnualReports/AnnualReport2005/Name,5300,en.htm Annual Report 2005, Standards in Public Office Commission ] ] Has been known to have been involved strongly in Cian Healy's campaign for Gay rights.Going for pints with Bertie and Paddy the plasterer il be back to the Dail in about 2 weekscheers lads.

References

External links

* [http://www.ivorcallely.ie/ Ivor Calley's website]
* [http://www.electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=3623 Ivor Calley's electoral history] (ElectionsIreland.org)
* [http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/1207/callelyi.html Callely considers resigning amid controversy] – "RTÉ News" report, 7 December 2005.
* [http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/1208/callelyi.html Callely quits ministerial post - reports] – "RTÉ News" report, 8 December 2005.

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