INDEPENDENT TD Mick Wallace could face up to a year in jail if convicted of criminal charges of failing to pay the pension contributions of his construction workers over almost two years.
The Pensions Board has claimed Mr Wallace failed to pay the contributions between January 2008 and January 2010, the District Court heard earlier this week.
Mr Wallace paid over €22,000 after the board instituted criminal proceedings and has undertaken to pay another €24,000 into the workers’ pension fund.
The case against his company, MJ Wallace Ltd, has been adjourned to December 5th to give the Wexford TD and developer time to pay the outstanding amount.
Under the terms of the Construction Workers Pension Scheme, employers are required to deduct contributions from workers and pay them into the scheme within 21 days.
Mr Wallace has blamed a “discrepancy” over the amounts owed for the board’s decision to prosecute him. He denied not paying the contributions but accepted there had been a delay because of “poor communication between us and the Pensions Board”.
“It is obviously more my fault than theirs and I accept responsibility for that,” he told RTÉ Radio yesterday.
Under legislation, the board is empowered to prosecute offenders on a summary basis in the District Court or by indictment in the Circuit Court.
The fact that it has taken the case against Mr Wallace in the lower court indicates that his alleged offences are at the lower end of the scale, but he still faces a maximum jail term of one year or a fine of €5,000. Mr Wallace has said he expects to be fined.
Conviction on indictment can result in a five-year jail term and/or a €25,000 fine.
Also this week, ACCBank secured summary judgment orders for more than €19 million against Mr Wallace and MJ Wallace Ltd, which is in receivership. The order against the TD arises from his personal guarantees of loans received between 2004 and 2008. Mr Wallace has previously said he owes €40 million to various banks. These are understood to include Ulster Bank, AIB and Bank of Scotland Ireland, as well as ACC.
The Pensions Board is currently investigating the Construction Workers Pension Scheme and has issued summonses in more than 40 cases. Since 2007, it has been notified of 465 cases in which non-deduction of pension contributions is alleged.