Onchan District Commissioners have paid just under £8,000 on legal advice relating to member David Quirk.

In the minutes of their last meeting this month, it is referenced that £7,890 had been spent on the commissioner since he took up office in October 2020.

When asked if the expenses were in the interest of the commissioners and their ratepayers, the committee replied that due to the ’conduct of the member it was deemed necessary’.

Following the legal advice given, Onchan District Commissioners paid for a notice in the Manx Independent on April 15 and in the Isle of Man Courier on April 16 this year disassociating themselves from Mr Quirk and his comments.

The notice stated his comments were made in a ’personal capacity’ and didn’t ’represent the policy or agreed statements’ of the authority or the board after he spoke out about vandalism in Onchan and criticised the apparent lack of police in the village.

Since the by-election last year no other legal expenditure of this size has been incurred by any other commissioner.

Mr Quirk is unaware of the reasons they sought legal advice.

He said: ’I have requested several times for a breakdown of the advocate fees. I don’t know what the advice was.’

The commissioner doesn’t believe he has done anything to deserve such treatment.

He added: ’I don’t believe I’ve done anything untoward, I’ve not incurred any costs. It’s nonsense.’

Mr Quirk contacted the Onchan Commissioners and asked if the chairman could provide a ’breakdown of all legal advice and expenses’ requested from Callin Wild, a solicitors, advocates and notaries firm in the island.

He also asked why the chairman was ’reluctant to share [the] information with the board.’

He has not yet received answers to his enquiries.

The former MHK said: ’Anyone accused must know what they’re being accused of. You can’t stifle debate or democracy.’

He has said in the past that Onchan is known for ’violence, fire and vandalism,’ after which followed the commissioners’ notice in the two newspapers refusing to ’accept any responsibility for the accuracy or reliability’ for his views.

This came after incidents involving fires being started in the Bemahague and School Road areas, as well as public property being damaged in Onchan Juniors Football Club’s and Onchan Park’s refurbished toilets across February and April this year.

Mr Quirk stressed via social media that ’more needs to be done to clamp down on these incidents’ as he voiced his concerns separately from the Onchan Commissioners.

He added: ’There needs to be more bobbies on the beat to discourage anti-social behaviour.’

The commissioner felt there were several reasons for these incidents, the primary reason being Covid-19.

He proposed the community engage with youths and juveniles to stimulate them.

Mr Quirk made it clear at the time that whatever he said with regards to these issues was from him as an individual and not the thoughts of the commissioners.

Before this, Onchan District Commissioners issued a formal disclaimer in April 2020 following Mr Quirk’s previous comment regarding the need for more police patrols in the village.

He represented Onchan in the House of Keys from 2006 until 2016 and then ran in the by-election in October 2020 to become a commissioner for the village.

The Independent contacted Onchan District Commissioners but they declined to comment on the matter.