AMERICAN POLITICIAN SCRUTINISED OVER IRISH HOLIDAY HOME

An American politician is being probed over his holiday cottage in Ireland.
U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd has become the subject of an ethnics complaint by a conservative group that questions whether the property really was a gift.
The senator's situation has come under further scrutiny after a new appraisal of the cottage in County Galway has more than doubled the value that Dodd said it was worth.
The property has now been valued at 470,000 euros, or about US$660,000, on a financial disclosure report made public by the Connecticut senator's office.
The previous year's report valued the seaside home at between US$100,001 and US$250,000.
Dodd's spokesman Bryan DeAngelis said the senator and his wife decided to have the property appraised because they felt it was time to update the information for the politician's financial disclosure report to the Senate.
"The value of the cottage or of Irish real estate, generally isn't something that the Dodds have thought much about," said DeAngelis.
"However, questions have been raised and they recognise that it's important to make a good faith effort at valuation for the Senate financial disclosures."
The American organisation Judicial Watch, a conservative government watchdog group, filed an ethics complaint against Dodd in April, questioning whether the price he originally paid for the cottage amounted to a gift from businessman Edward "Bucky" Kessinger.
Kessinger, who has been described as a long-time friend of the senator, is chairman of Kessinger/Hunter and Co., a commercial property firm based in Kansas City. He has not commented on the debacle.
Dodd and Kessinger bought the cottage in 1994 for US$160,000, with Dodd contributing US$12,000 for one-third of the down payment.
The Dodds bought out Kessinger in 2002 and refinanced the mortgage, paying Kessinger US$122,000 plus US$5,000 in closing costs. They also paid off Kessinger's US$50,000 share of the remaining mortgage.
A two-page appraisal, written by an Irish estate agent, describes how the 12.5-acre property is located on "mountain type land" and includes a partially renovated cottage, "old roofed outsheds, including donkey house, chicken roost and greenhouse."
It describes the house as "very basic" and "cold, windy and draughty."
"It is just suitable as a summer house," the appraiser wrote. He also mentions "shoddy workmanship," but says it has "excellent views over sea and moorland."
The appraisal notes the Irish property market is slow and the cottage would need to be put up for sale to get a fair idea of its true value.