Former planning board deputy chair Paul Hyde successful in appeal against jail term

FORMER deputy chair of An Bord Pleanála Paul Hyde was successful in his appeal against a two-month jail term today as his lawyer declared that Mr Hyde was “not involved in any corruption despite what keyboard warriors say”.

Judge Colin Daly increased the overall sentence to three months but suspended it in full.

In addition he imposed fines totalling €6,000 at Cork Circuit Appeals Court.

The judge said, “In dishonesty offences involving a breach of trust by professional people… the principle of deterrence must be an important consideration. It is necessary to maintain high standards of transparency and trust. But the principle of transparency must give way to the principle of proportionality particularly when he made no material benefit.

Judge Daly said he was also taking into consideration the “personal, professional and reputational consequences” of his actions for Mr Hyde.

The judge said that in two declarations of interest by the accused no reference was made to a small strip of land beside common ground owned by a local authority – a strip which eventually sold for €20,000. Other properties undeclared on one occasion in 2019 were not declared because they were in receivership at the time but Judge Daly said that a simple check by Mr Hyde with his legal advisers would have told him that he was obliged to declare the list of properties – even after they had gone into receivership.

“I have to conclude that his culpability falls at the higher end of the range. As regards the harm done to society it is extremely important that there is a lack of perception of bias and a lack of bias… the harm and risk to society must be considered to be very high. But I don’t find there are any aggravating factors.

“In mitigation, he voluntarily cooperated with the inquiry (by senior counsel Remy Farrell) and equally with the gardaí. He entered a plea at the earliest opportunity. He is of previous good character and has a clean record. He did not gain materially from the breaches. He lost his job, his salary and most importantly his reputation,” Judge Daly said.

APPEAL

Mr Hyde was appealing a sentence of two months in jail imposed on him at Bandon District Court by Judge James McNulty after he pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to declare his interests in a number of properties when an officer of An Board Pleanála in breach of planning law requirements.

51-year-old Paul Hyde of Castlefields, Baltimore, County Cork, was sentenced on two breaches of Section 147 of the Planning Development Act 2000 which required him as an officer of the Bord to declare all properties registered to him.

His senior counsel Tom Creed said, “None of these properties (which were not declared) were subject to a determination by the Bord. There was never any conflict of interest that arose. No benefit or gain arose from his failure to declare.

“When the receiver took over the properties Mr Hyde took the view he was no longer the owner. But of course technically there was a benefit that arose where loans were defrayed by the sale of the properties. But there was no benefit by the misdeclaration.” 

In a wider context, An Bord Pleanála withdrew from an appeal because of “a perception of objective bias but there was no actual bias shown”, Mr Creed said.

Mr Creed stressed that the investigation of the matter by Remy Farrell senior counsel found that “there was no bias involved… I think it is important to put that out there.

“Mr Hyde resigned from the Bord. There was huge reputational damage to Mr Hyde. He was financially compromised at the time. It is unfortunate that digital media – not mainstream media, I should say – portrayed him as corrupt in some fashion… Mr Hyde was not involved in any corruption despite what these keyboard warriors say… He did not declare those properties because he felt the receiver had control.

“One has to declare interest in properties – he failed to declare but there was no material benefit or interest… This is simply a failure to declare properties. This is not an appropriate case where a prison sentence should be imposed.” Prosecution barrister John Berry called Detective Sergeant Shane Curtis of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau to outline the background to the case where he had been appointed to investigate Mr Hyde’s declaration of interest after two articles about him and An Bord Pleanála were published by The Ditch website and Village magazine.

Detective Sergeant Curtis said, in his 2018 return, Mr Hyde failed to include all the properties that he had listed in 2015 save for one of the properties in Douglas and the property in Baltimore, both of which were exempted anyway as they were principal properties, and this amounted to a breach of the regulations.

Mr Berry said that under the Planning and Development Act 2000, failure to declare an interest in properties when an officer of An Bord Pleanála was a summary offence that carried a maximum penalty of six months in jail or a fine of €5,000.

When Judge McNulty sentenced Mr Hyde at Bandon District Court he said, “Openness, transparency and accountability in governance, together with independence, impartiality and integrity among decision makers, are among the important pillars on which a modern democracy and a prosperous economy are built and maintained.

“What makes these offences so serious is that the work of An Bord Pleanála is quasi-judicial in nature, and at the high end of quasi-judicial. It is the appeal forum for citizens who may be dissatisfied, for whatever reasons, with the decisions of local planning authorities nationwide. An Bord Pleanála is also the decision maker, first and last, in a range of important matters.

“But if those who are in leadership and authority are lax and careless and non-compliant, what will those in the ranks do? They will be lax and careless too, almost as if compliance was an option.”