Ivor Callely (born 6 May 1958) is an Irish former politician who served as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin North-Central constituency from 1989 to 2007 and a member of Seanad Éireann from 2007 to 2011, having been nominated by the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern.
In 2002 Callely was appointed by the government of Bertie Ahern as Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children with special responsibility for services for older people.
[4] In a reshuffle in September 2004, he was appointed Minister of State at the Department of Transport with special responsibility for certain traffic management issues in Dublin and the major cities, road haulage and the Irish Aviation Authority.
[6][7][8] On 8 December 2005, Callely resigned his ministerial post after an RTÉ News report that a building contractor involved in public contracts had painted his house for free in the early 1990s.
[12] In 2005, the Standards in Public Office Commission received a complaint regarding an advertisement for the Operation Freeflow system which outlined traffic and travel arrangements in Dublin in the pre-Christmas period, and which featured a photograph of Callely, then Minister of State.
However, it also considered that the provisions of the code were insufficiently clear so as to distinguish between the appropriate use of a photograph of an office holder as part of a necessary advertising campaign and an inappropriate raising of profile in the context of a general election.
After his nomination to the Seanad, Callely informed Oireachtas officials in December 2007 that his "current principal residence" was Kilcrohane, Bantry in County Cork, which is 370 km from Leinster House.
[26] In March 2014, Callely pleaded guilty to making false mobile phone expenses claims while a member of the Oireachtas,[27] and was convicted in July 2014 and sentenced to 5 months in prison.
[28] In passing sentence, Judge Mary Ellen Ring ruled that Callely's position at the time was an aggravating factor and said that a prison term was demanded by the public interest.
[31] When Callely was asked by the Department of Transport to make proposals for repayment on a goodwill basis, he replied that due to the need to devote his energy to other proceedings he was not in a position to deal with the issue at that time.
[37] Callely claimed that he was unable to deal with the case due to injuries sustained from a bicycle accident, and he subsequently was ordered to pay €1.5 million following a summary judgement in the company's favour.