Fianna Fáil's internal ethics committee is to seek a meeting with Mr G.V. Wright TD (Dublin North) about allegations that he conspired to mislead the planning tribunal.
Already facing a drink-driving charge, Mr Wright has denied the allegation made to the tribunal by Mr Frank Dunlop, the former government press secretary. Mr Wright is expected to give evidence to the tribunal when hearings resume in November.
A Fianna Fáil spokeswoman said the party was aware that Mr Wright had yet to appear before the tribunal to present his evidence.
However, she said the chairman of the ethics committee, Mr Seamus Kirk TD, would be contacting Mr Wright to ask him to provide an update in the light of Mr Dunlop's evidence. It is believed that Mr Kirk plans to contact Mr Wright before the weekend.
The Irish Times was unable to contact Mr Wright last night. He declined to comment about his situation when contacted on Tuesday evening.
While some Fianna Fáil TDs saw the public confirmation last week that the committee's would examine Mr Wright's situation as implicit pressure on him to resign the party whip, the Taoiseach's official spokeswoman has denied that this was the case.
A separate examination by the Fianna Fáil ethics committee of the €130,000 tax settlement by Limerick West TD Mr Michael Collins is continuing.
