Former Meath councillor Tommy Reilly faces two-day SIPO hearing
The rescheduled investigation will examine 'alleged contraventions of the Local Government Act 2001 and the Code of Conduct for Councillors by Mr Tommy Reilly, former Councillor of Meath County Council," according to a statement from SIPO.
SIPO, established in 2001, is an independent and non-partisan body tasked with ensuring compliance with several key pieces of legislation, including the Ethics in Public Office Acts, the Electoral Act 1997, the Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Act 2014, and the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015.
The upcoming hearing follows a previous ethics investigation by Meath County Council into Cllr Reilly's involvement in the rezoning of a 35-acre site in Liscarton, on the outskirts of Navan. The land, owned by his son, saw its value rise from €500,000 to €4.2m after it was rezoned in 2017.
Cllr Reilly had declared a conflict of interest at the time and did not participate in the council vote on the rezoning in July 2017.
The rezoning and surrounding events were later highlighted in a detailed report by journalist Frank Connolly for The Village magazine. Following that, Jackie Maguire, the chief executive of Meath County Council at the time carried out a review of Cllr Reilly's role.
The hearing will take place today and om Monday, June 16.
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