14-day suspension for Kerry TD

The Kerry North TD, Mr Denis Foley, is due to be suspended from the Dail for 14 sitting days after he admitted breaching the …

The Kerry North TD, Mr Denis Foley, is due to be suspended from the Dail for 14 sitting days after he admitted breaching the Ethics Act.

Late last night, the Dail Members' Interests Committee put the finishing touches to a 30-page report on the matter, which it is to present to the Houses of the Oireachtas today.

Sources close to the committee said it will be recommending Mr Foley's suspension ail for 14 days. A resolution to that effect is expected to be put to the Dail on Tuesday.

The proposed suspension follows an investigation by the Members' Interests Committee into a complaint from the Labour Party that the Kerry TD breached Section 7 of the Ethics Act. This section requires politicians to make a declaration when voting or speaking on a matter in the Oireachtas in which they have a material interest.

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In September 1997, Mr Foley voted on a Dail motion relating to the Moriarty tribunal. At that time he had an Ansbacher account and had not declared the fact.

Mr Foley is now set to miss the Dail for the rest of this term, leaving the minority Fianna Fail-Progressive Democrat government down on support.

However, the Coalition's slim majority will not be affected as the opposition is not at full strength following the recent death of the Labour TD, Mr Michael Ferris.

The Members' Interests Committee, chaired by ail TD, Mr Tony Killeen of Fianna Fail, met to finalise the report into its investigation over the last two nights. Mr Killeen was assisted by Mr Jim O'Keeffe of Fine Gael and Mr Brendan Howlin of Labour. Mr Lawlor resigned from the committee a month ago due to what he said was pressure of other work commitments.

Mr Foley appeared before the committee on May 10th and admitted he had breached the Ethics Act. The maximum penalty for breaching the act is 30 days' suspension, but it is understood the committee showed leniency because Mr Foley co-operated fully with its inquiry.

Fianna Fail and the PDs currently have 80 Dail seats between them.

Four of the six independents are supporting the Coalition, giving the Government 84 votes, one more than the 83 majority it needs to survive.