The rules and procedures for the investigation into whether Mr Denis Foley TD breached the Ethics in Public Office Act have been agreed by the Members' Interests Committee. Mr Foley is due to receive notification from the committee this week which will formally outline the rules of procedure for the inquiry.
The committee will be investigating a complaint from the Labour Party leader, Mr Ruairi Quinn, that Mr Foley breached Section 7 of the Ethics Act. That section requires Oireachtas members to make a declaration when voting or speaking on a matter in the Dail in which they have a material interest. In September 1997 Mr Foley voted on a Dail motion relating to the Moriarty tribunal. At the time he had an Ansbacher account. While still a member of Fianna Fail, Mr Foley was expelled from the parliamentary party after the controversy about his financial affairs was made public.
Should he contest the complaint, the committee's hearing will be held in public. A number of individuals associated with Ansbacher accounts, including the former Guinness & Mahon banker, Mr Padraig Collery, may be called to give evidence.
The Fianna Fail TD, Mr Tony Killeen, chairs the committee and its other members are: Mr Jim O'Keefee of Fine Gael and Mr Brendan Howlin of Labour.
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 30 sittings days of the Dail.