A Galway Fianna Fáil councillor was: twice convicted of failing to file tax returns; ruled to have underdeclared tens of thousands of euro in VAT; and has judgments of more than €30,000 registered against him.
Gerry Finnerty was convicted in April 2018 and again in May 2020 of tax offences – on both occasions while serving as a county councillor for Galway’s Gort–Kinvara local electoral area.
A fine of €1,250 at Gort District Court was imposed in April 2018 for Finnerty failing to submit his 2014 tax return by its deadline.
In a second case heard at Galway District Court in May 2020, Finnerty got a fine of €5,000 for failing to file his 2015 tax return. Court documents show he was charged with the same offence, this time.
Contacted earlier today by The Ditch, Finnerty said, “I have no comment on that, they’re related to a business I had.” Asked about the undeclared VAT he said, “That's an old thing. It's been dealt with and sorted.”
'The collector general has registered multiple judgments against the councillor'
Gerry Finnerty, a clerical officer and auctioneer at a cattle mart, has been a Galway County councillor for Fianna Fáil since 2009. He is also a part-time farmer and a former publican, according to ethics returns.
In October 2010, Finnerty was subject to a Revenue Compliance Notice after an audit found he had underdeclared €49,827 in VAT. Revenue imposed an additional €21,993 in interest charges and penalties, bringing his total VAT-related liability to €71,820.
The collector general has registered multiple judgments against the councillor.
On 16 July, 2019 a judgment for €6,079 was registered, followed by a judgment of €29,445 on 6 September, 2019. His family home and farmland he owns currently have judgment mortgages on them.
Records indicate that on 8 June, 2018, Finnerty "failed to produce at Kilrush Road, Ennis Co. Clare the address of (his) principal place of business the records relating to payment of reckonable earnings for the period 2014 to 17th May, 2018" for an employee. He was fined €500.
Fianna Fáil has been contacted for comment.
