A Catholic curate has been fined more than €6,000 after he pleaded guilty to 10 charges, including making incorrect income tax returns. Cork District Court was told that Fr Tadhg O'Donovan of the Parochial House, Whitechurch, Co Cork, had an interest in at least 13 investment properties, but kept some income hidden.
Fr O'Donovan told the court he had made a settlement with the Revenue Commissioners totalling almost €250,000.
Fr Tadhg O'Donovan is the curate at Whitechurch in the parish of Blarney in Co Cork. He moved there last September from Kilworth in Cork, where he was described as being popular with parishoners and was instrumental in the refurbishment of the local Araglin Church.
At the District Court in Cork today, Fr O'Donovan faced 10 charges in a prosecution brought by the Revenue Commissioners.
These related to a five-year period between 1998 and 2002 and included five charges of delivering incorrect income tax returns, three charges of delivering incorrect information in connection with income tax, one charge of submitting an incorrect statement of affairs and one charge of failing to keep records.
Revenue Commissioners official Fergus Dempsey told the court that Fr O'Donovan had an interest in 13 investment properties.
He said that even after Fr O'Donovan was told in 2004 that his tax affairs were being investigated, he kept a bank account that he used for rental income hidden from the Revenue Commissioners.
Fr O'Donovan has made a settlement of €213,222 with the Revenue Commissioners. He apologised to the court.
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