Youâd be amazed how often this happens. People redact documents in soft copy and then issue it, the redactions can be reversed. They need to be redacted, printed and scanned again to issue as soft copy I think. Some departments have blundered into doing it for big FOI requests and inadvertently issued loads of information they shouldnât have, has made for great headlines on a few occasions.
They must have written that article about 50 times before they decided it was vague enough to publish.
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Canât you redact and print/ace to pdf?
I hope she wasnât shipping them out on Word.
I donât know I donât do that kind of thing. I understand if you redact on pdf and send it out it can be undone too.
Not if its done properly.
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A tale of no little cuntishness here.
South Dublin residentsâ fury after neighbours got âŹ3.2m in secret deal with developer but they got nothing
Judicial review was taken by Knockcree and Blackberry Hill residents. Stock image
Residents of a South Dublin housing estate who contributed to a GoFundMe page to pay for legal moves against the building of 482 homes in their area have reacted angrily to a big cash payment received by their neighbours in two adjacent estates.
People who live in Carrickmines Green said they were unaware that 40 of their neighbours in nearby Blackberry Hill and Knockcree had shared in the secret âŹ3.24m âgo-awayâ money payout detailed in last weekâs Sunday Independent.
Each of the 40 residents had received a cheque for âŹ75,000 from Bowbeck Developments in return for dropping a judicial review of An Bord PleanĂĄlaâs decision to approve a 22-storey apartment building in a field opposite their estates.
The âGolf Lane SHD Judicial Review Fundraiserâ page, set up on GoFundMe in May 2021 by the Knockcree-Blackberry Hill residents associations âon behalf of the Concerned Residents of Dublin 18â, collected more than âŹ8,600 in just three months.
A High Court judicial review was âthe only optionâ, it was stated on the page, which urged the local community to âpull togetherâ.
âThis is not a small sum, but spread across our whole community it can be done, so lean in and be part [of] our team,â it said.
Residents of the Carrickmines Green estate, beside Blackberry Hill and Knockcree and close to the site for the proposed 482 homes, were among the 119 people who contributed various sums to the online fundraiser.
A subsequent judicial review taken by 40 residents in Knockcree and Blackberry Hill led to a confidential settlement that saw those 40 residents each get a âŹ75,000 payment.â
When I would walk my dog on Golf Lane, I was always surprised how many new cars like BMW X5s were in that estate
The revelation last week of the details of this deal was an indictment of the planning system, said one Carrickmines Green resident who had contributed to the original GoFundMe in 2021 after receiving a flyer in his letterbox directing him to the webpage.
âPeople in this estate contributed to the fundraiser on that basis, but we were surprised to find out they went and did a deal themselves,â the source said.
âWhen I would walk my dog on Golf Lane I was always surprised how many new cars like BMW X5s were in that estate.
âIt will be the last time I contribute to something like that.
âIf there was a settlement done that involved the developer paying cash it should have been put into a community fund for playgrounds or fixing some of the legacy issues here.â
Carrickmines Green was under construction when the Celtic Tiger collapsed and residents have fought since to have defects and fire safety issues rectified.
âWeâve legacy issues in this estate and some people here face potential bills of up to âŹ50,000 to fix them. Some of that money could have been well spent in our estate,â the source said.â
But one resident who lives in one of the two neighbouring estates and who did receive a payment from the developer described the reaction as âan emotional responseâ.
He was, he said, aware there had been anger locally following the revelations in the Sunday Independent, but believed there was âa certain ironyâ because it was from people who had supported blocking the development and yet the development had not gone ahead.
He pointed out that should the development proceed the deal struck by the 40 residents included elements that would benefit the wider community, including railings, access, parking, trees and security.
We would not have got a settlement if we did not have a legitimate legal argument
âI do understand how people might feel upset. But the reason there was a settlement for us was due to a perceived discount against the value of our houses. If I put my house on the market today a buyer is going to see the hoardings and ask about the 22-storey tower and that is going to hit the value,â he said.
âWe would not have got a settlement if we did not have a legitimate legal argument.â
He insisted the money collected on the GoFundMe page had been exclusively used to pay for initial assessments of whether to take a legal case rather than for any action itself.
âWe had to get assessments and consultants to see if we had a legitimate case. So the GoFundMe page was set up to do that and didnât actually relate to the judicial review itself,â he said.
âThe judicial review was funded by the residents, not by the GoFundMe page.â
As part of the confidential settlement, the developer had paid âŹ200,000 plus 23pc Vat to the residents as a contribution to legal fees.
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Hopefully the recipients of the 75k payments have all paid appropriate tax on it.
Would that be taxed as income or capital?
Surely CGT
It depends on how the agreement (if any) was drafted. Could be either one and it may well be exempt but Iâd imagine the Revenue will be looking to see how it was paid and on what terms.
How could it be exempt??
Theyâll be looking now
One thing about revenue when they spot a loophole they close it off quickly - prob the best govt dept we have in play
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All4one vouchers
It would be up to the residents to prove that it was exempt in any case rather than Revenue having to prove that itâs taxable.
The only way I could see it being not taxable is if they were able to argue that it was a reimbursement of costs incurred but the article seems to say that there was a separate âŹ200k paid as a contribution towards legal fees so I donât think that would hold.
Exactly how it is taxed would depend on the wording of the settlement.
Whats the threshold for a gift?
Low if itâs not a relation i think
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âŹ3,000 is your annual small gift exemption & then the lifetime threshold from all strangers is âŹ16,250.
Just set up a gaa club and you can gift a million quid