Roscommon County Council has confirmed that two members of staff have been suspended and a third has resigned in an ongoing investigation into planning irregularities.
One of the officials admitted submitting a planning application under an assumed name in another county.
Two employees had been working in a private capacity drawing up or submitting planning applications, an activity strictly prohibited under local authority regulations. A third is under investigation.
None of the three was working in the planning section, although it is believed that one of them had worked in that department.
Roscommon county manager, Mr Eddie Sheehy, confirmed yesterday to The Irish Times that a private investigator had been employed. Mr Sheehy denied however that the investigation had looked into allegations that a council employee had acquired an interest in land which was subsequently sold to the National Roads Authority as part of a major road development in the county.
"The only investigation carried out on my behalf related to planning applications. Any other things mentioned are only speculation," Mr Sheehy said.
A statement issued yesterday evening by the council states: "One official of the council, who has admitted responsibility for the submission of a planning application under an assumed name in another county has been dealt with in accordance with the council's internal disciplinary procedures and has interalia, been suspended from duty for a period. "A second official who has admitted his involvement in the preparation of a number of planning applications has resigned from the council."
It said the council was still investigating the possible involvement of a third official in the preparation of a number of planning applications and that "this junior official has now been suspended from duty".
Mr Sheehy said it was "a relatively isolated incident" and only involved a small number of staff.
He said it had to be placed in the context of the very large number of applications being submitted over recent years. In 1994, a total of 714 applications were received by Roscommon County Council but this had grown to 2024 last year.
Mr Sheehy said that the highest standards were expected of staff and when it was found that some individuals were not living up to these, the matter had been dealt with "effectively and efficiently".
The investigation had been going on for some weeks and came to a head just as staff were breaking up for Christmas holidays. Computers and files were seized as part of the inquiry.
Morale at council headquarters in Roscommon town is said to be low and there was no Christmas party for council employees this year. The county manager, Mr Sheehy, is leaving the post today to take up a position with Wicklow County Council. The county secretary is taking over as manager. Regulations issued in 1984 by the Department of the Environment for local government officers and employees "prohibit the holder of whole-time office, the qualifications for which are wholly or in part professional, from engaging in private practice in the profession in which he/she is employed or in any cognate profession".
As in other counties, the large increase in the number of planning applications over recent years had put huge pressure on the planning department. The issue of vacancies in the planning department and the difficulty filling them arose at a number of council meetings last year.