Foley due to have first meeting with Dail ethics committee on May 10th

The Kerry North TD, Mr Denis Foley, will have his first meeting on May 10th with the Members' Interests Committee, which is investigating…

The Kerry North TD, Mr Denis Foley, will have his first meeting on May 10th with the Members' Interests Committee, which is investigating whether he breached the Ethics in Public Office Act.

Despite some contact between legal representatives of the committee and Mr Foley, it is still unclear what stance Mr Foley will adopt on the charge that he breached Section 7 of the Act.

That section requires politicians to make a declaration when voting or speaking on a matter in the Oireachtas in which they have a material interest. In September 1997 Mr Foley voted on a Dail motion relating to the Moriarty tribunal. At that time he had an Ansbacher account.

The committee, which is chaired by the Fianna Fail TD, Mr Tony Killeen, has sent the proposed rules and procedures for an inquiry to Mr Foley for his consideration. They will be formally adopted at the May 10th meeting at which he is expected to indicate his stance on the complaint.

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Should Mr Foley choose to contest the complaint, the committee's inquiry will be held in public.

Several of the individuals associated with the Ansbacher accounts, including the former Guinness & Mahon banker, Mr Padraig Collery, will be called to give evidence.

The committee's work has been largely undertaken by Mr Killeen, Mr Jim O'Keeffe of Fine Gael and Mr Brendan Howlin of Labour.

However, last week the two other members of the committee, Mr Liam Lawlor of Fianna Fail and Mr John Browne of Fine Gael, attended their first meeting on the Foley investigation.

Mr Browne has been recovering from surgery. Mr Lawlor is not expected to have any further involvement with the inquiry given the controversy over the Dunlop revelations at the Flood tribunal.

The committee will issue a written report after the investigation. If Mr Foley is found to have breached the Ethics Act, he can be censured by the Dail and/or suspended for up to 30 sitting days of the Dail.