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Sunday World
7 days ago
- Business
- Sunday World
Election candidate owes thousands to young mum he charged extra to rent his property
Mother of three Kirsty Fitzsimons says she was told to fork out extra for a 'top-up' to the agreed rent costs from Dermot McGuckin. Names to be blurred out on Fitzsimons rent extorsion talking to Alan Sherry in Mullingar Gary Ashe,21/5/2025 Dermot McGuckin says the RTB hearing went ahead without his knowledge An election candidate and landlord who called for more social and affordable housing for struggling families has refused to pay thousands he owes to a young mother after the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) found he had illegally withheld her deposit. Dermot (Diarmuid) McGuckin (58), who is originally from Dublin but living in Fossa, Co Kerry, was ordered by the RTB to pay €3,280 to Kirsty Fitzsimons for illegally withholding her deposit for a property he rents out in Tallaght, Dublin. As well as running as an Independent candidate in the local elections in Killarney, McGuckin has set up firms in diverse industries, including home care for the elderly, tourism, cleaning services and communications. He is also a taxi driver and was elected chair of the Irish Taxi Federation in Killarney. McGuckin further describes himself as a public relations consultant, and a number of years ago set up The Bellarose Foundation, which he said provided cleaning and care services to women going through chemotherapy. Kirsty Fitzsimons with documentation for the RTB He also organised a Great Santa Cycle in Killarney to raise funds for what he called the Bellarose Youth Development Fund. As well as not returning his tenant's deposit, McGuckin was also getting Kirsty to secretly pay an additional €830 per month on top of the €1,950 lease agreement. Kirsty said: 'When we contacted him about renting it, he said, 'I have someone else who is highly interested and it is between you and them. They have offered x, y and z above the lease, what can you offer'? 'I have never seen anything like it – and I've been renting since 2017,' she said. Kirsty said she felt like she had no option but to pay the extra to secure the rental property which is in Forest Lawns in Kingswood. News in 90 Seconds - May 30th 'I had three children and was desperate for a house for the kids and there was no alternative. He had €1,950 down as the lease agreement but was actually charging €2,780. 'When I told the HAP [Housing Assistance Payment scheme] about this they said to stop paying him extra rent. After that, he was contacting me at all times about the top-up. He was actually the most difficult landlord I ever dealt with in my life.' When McGuckin ran in the local elections in Kerry he claimed one of his main concerns was 'more social and affordable housing' for struggling families. Kirsty said her experience with him was 'completely different'. Kirsty Fitzsimons tells our reporter her story 'He said he was for families and all that. If he was, he wouldn't be charging outrageous amounts of rent for young families. I think it was ridiculous. All he cared about was the money. 'I'm waiting for the deposit nearly two years. I think he thought I'm young so he'd be able to take advantage.' In the end, Kirsty only stayed in the house for six months before leaving, but when she did leave in July 2023, McGuckin refused to give her the €2,780 security deposit back. McGuckin has owed the money to the young mother-of-three for almost two years but had point blank refused to give it back, didn't bother turning up to the RTB hearing and has not responded to Ms Fitzsimons' calls and messages since. Things were even more stressful for Kirsty after she received bad health news recently. 'I was going through all this with the RTB and him, and then I found out I had a BRCA1 gene for breast and ovarian cancer. I have to get a double mastectomy and an ovariectomy.' The RTB ordered McGuckin to pay the €2,780 deposit and an additional €500 in compensation. However, when contacted by the Sunday World, McGuckin claimed that he wasn't even aware there had been an RTB case against him. 'To have a court case [RTB hearing] without me being there is very f**king harsh. But I don't know, I'd have to see what notes I have on it and bring them up. 'To go ahead and have a hearing without me having any input whatsoever, surely there's a law against that?' Kirsty is now facing the prospect of surgery A spokesperson for the RTB confirmed there is indeed a law against that and rubbished McGuckin's claims that they would schedule the hearing without informing all parties. 'By law, we must give notice of a dispute hearing. We will only schedule a case for a hearing when we have contact details for all parties,' they said. The spokesperson said the RTB contacts all parties to confirm contact details before sending them hearing notices. As well as claiming he was unaware of the RTB case, McGuckin tried to justify not giving back the deposit and made a series of claims which Kirsty said were outright lies. 'There was a lot of reasons why she didn't get it back at the time,' McGuckin claimed. Asked what they were, he said: 'Damage to the property and there was some stuff gone from the property that was there when she moved in.' Asked for examples of either damage or missing items, he couldn't provide even a single one. 'Ah now, I have a list there I'd have to go through. As I said, this is the first I've heard about this,' he said. Kirsty said McGuckin was lying about damage to the property and any missing items. 'It's complete and utter nonsense. I can't believe he said there were things missing. I've never been accused of stealing before. He can't tell you what was missing because there was nothing missing.' She said every other landlord she has dealt with, including estate agents, have always given her glowing references. McGuckin also claimed he hadn't heard from Kirsty since she left in July 2023. 'I'm at a loss of what to tell you. I haven't heard from her since she left. I think once maybe she got in contact after she left.' However, Kirsty said that was another lie and she has contacted him numerous times since by phone and by email, but he has ignored all communication. Asked if he was willing to give her back her deposit now, McGuckin said: 'I'd have to look in to that. I know it was withheld for a reason and probably multiple reasons, I wouldn't be holding onto anything you know... if everything was OK, there'd be no issue.' Kristy said she was insulted that McGuckin would try to say she was at fault for not getting her deposit back. 'I wouldn't have gone to the RTB if what he was saying was true and wouldn't be doing an interview about it. He didn't inspect the house before we moved in. He got the previous tenant to leave a key under the mat. He also didn't inspect it when we moved out. He had no bill for any supposed damage he claimed was caused, he can't name a single thing missing,' she said. When the Sunday World asked McGuckin why he was looking for an additional €830 in payments on top of the €1,950 lease, he initially said: 'Em, no, whatever was on the lease agreement would have been what was charged.' However, when we pointed out Kirsty had messages showing he was in fact demanding €2,780, he said: 'I can't remember off-hand. I mean you're after getting me completely off hand on this one.' Landlords can legitimately ask for payments on top of HAP payments if the HAP payments don't meet the rent amount, but cannot ever ask for payments on top of what is stated on the lease. The property was also in a rent pressure zone with strict limits on how much rent could be increased by from one year to the next.
Press and Journal
15-05-2025
- Press and Journal
Oban man jailed after grabbing woman and threatening to 'kill' in town centre
An Oban man has been jailed for four months after grabbing a woman and threatening to 'kill' people. Brendan McGuckin, who is of no fixed abode, appeared from custody at Oban Sheriff Court on Tuesday. He pleaded guilty to seizing a woman by the body and lifting her arms using force in Station Square on May 12. He also admitted causing fear or alarm by acting aggressively and repeatedly shouting and swearing. At around 11pm, two witnesses who had been drinking in a nearby bar were walking through Station Square when they came across McGuckin, who was with a woman. The witnesses were concerned for the woman and spoke to her. McGuckin was then said to have become aggressive towards the two witnesses, one of whom was female. Fiscal depute Raeesa Ahmed said: 'The witnesses did not know McGuckin, but to de-escalate the situation, the woman placed herself between her friend and the accused. 'When she did that the accused grabbed both her wrists and lifted her arms high in the air. He became increasingly aggressive. 'Due to the level of aggression, the other witness restrained McGuckin on the ground. 'McGuckin said to the man 'I will break your arms and I will f****** kill you all.'' Police were called and McGuckin was taken to the police station. He made no reply to charges. A previous record was laid before the court and admitted by McGuckin's defence agent. Asked by Sheriff Euan Cameron if McGuckin was returning to offending, defence agent Graeme Wright said: 'He has been a regular offender but he is getting support in the community. '[On the night of the incident] he was talking to a girl. And two people took it upon themselves to get involved. 'He regrets his behaviour.' Mr Wright argued that McGuckin should be given a chance to work with the services he was engaging with in the community. Sheriff Euan Cameron said: 'There is no alternative to a short period of custody. It will be one of four months for charge one, reduced from six months for your early plea. 'For charge two, you will also serve four months, reduced from six months for your early plea. 'The sentences will run concurrently.'
Fox News
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
NJ lawmakers urge schools to follow Trump's order against 'radical indoctrination'
Schools should be following President Donald Trump's executive order "ending radical indoctrination in K-12," say two New Jersey lawmakers who put forward a bill to repeal the Garden State's countervailing law. Assembs. Gregory McGuckin, R-Brick, and Paul Kanitra, R-Point Pleasant Beach, have put forward bill A-5560, which would repeal the 2021 state law requiring instruction on DEI and topics like unconscious bias, gender identity tolerance and disability tolerance. Meanwhile, the state's Democratic attorney general remains party to multi-state legal guidance countering Trump's order. "DEI is not appropriate in any part of our children's curriculum. It is nothing more than rebranded Marxist ideology that destroys people, relationships and communities," McGuckin said in a statement announcing the repeal effort. "[I]n schools, [it] wrecks merit-based rewards and an ambition to excel. True diversity, equity and inclusion leads to free associations which foster innovation and progress." McGuckin went on to call DEI lessons "garbage" that don't belong in New Jersey schools. Kanitra said it "boggles the mind" why "telling students their skin color determines their success or failure is true or helpful." "They are either stupid or evil, or maybe brilliant, because the experts pushing this stuff are quite wealthy, I hear," he said. Both lawmakers highlighted the decline in state education and test scores since the COVID-era school lock-outs ordered by Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat. McGuckin said students have yet to collectively return to 2019-level proficiency scores. Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin characterized Trump's order to end DEI curricula as having little effect on established law and pledged to continue to fight purported federal overreach. In a statement last week, Platkin said New Jersey's schools are excelling because of the system's ability to embrace the state's diversity. "No toothless threats from the Trump administration will change that," he said. "Along with my [AG] colleagues across the country, we are issuing legal guidance to schools so that they can continue to foster diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible environments that benefit all students." Platkin added he and the other state AGs will continue to fight any effort by the White House to withhold federal funding from schools or special-needs students. He was backed up by neighboring New York Attorney General Letitia James, who said in a statement that the Trump administration "cannot ban diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility efforts with a 'Dear Colleague' letter." New Jersey's DEI law, spearheaded by former Gov. Richard Codey — now a Democratic state senator from West Orange — mandated school districts incorporate such instruction beginning in the 2021 school year. "The instruction shall highlight and promote diversity, including economic diversity, equity, inclusion, tolerance, and belonging in connection with gender and sexual orientation, race and ethnicity, disabilities, and religious tolerance," the bill reads. It also "examine[s] the impact that unconscious bias and economic disparities have at both an individual level and on society as a whole; and encourage safe, welcoming, and inclusive environments for all students regardless of race or ethnicity, sexual and gender identities, mental and physical disabilities, and religious beliefs." Assemb. Carol Murphy, D-Burlington, said in 2020 it guarantees students will be "accepted and understanding of what each student goes through in life and making sure there is no stigma attached to that student, regardless of what culture… race… sexuality or where they are in life." As of Monday afternoon, the repeal effort had gained three additional co-sponsors: Assembs. Gregory Myhre of Barnegat, Brian Rumpf of Little Egg Harbor and Erik Peterson of Readington, all Republicans. Fox News Digital reached out to Platkin and GOP gubernatorial frontrunner Jack Ciattarelli for additional comment for purposes of this story.
