The Donegal county manager, Mr Michael McLoone, has strongly denied allegations that any "golden circle of corruption" operates within the planning system in the county.
The allegations were made by the county council's former chief planner, Mr Gerard Convie, who said he had proof of "numerous instances of irregularities, corruption and political interference" in the planning process.
In a special report to a county council meeting on Monday, following a report in the Donegal Democrat, Mr McLoone said he totally rejected the claims and questioned why Mr Convie was making them now when no such allegations had been made by him when he was employed by the council.
Speaking to The Irish Times this week, Mr Convie claimed that there was bullying and intimidation within the council of planners who sought to make decisions based exclusively on the planning merits of particular applications. He also cited a recent case where a senior member of the staff was investigated for bullying one of his subordinates.
Mr Convie was suspended in 1999, allegedly for not following procedures in relation to his involvement in a parcel of land at Magheroarty, near Bloody Foreland. "I gave planning decisions for planning reasons only. I think that's why they tried to get rid of me," he said.
He had bought a 17-acre site in the area, near where he and his family had had a holiday chalet for years, with a view to building a house there. Since they did not need the entire site, he had sold 13 acres to a developer who subsequently applied to build 12 houses.
Mr Convie insisted that he had declared his interest in the case, which was dealt with by another planner, and his only "error of judgment" was to accompany this planner on a site inspection.
The council's decision to grant permission was later overturned by An Bord Pleanála.
"There were all sorts of allegations at the time about brown envelopes, and this led to me being suspended. The matter was referred to the then minister, Noel Dempsey, and I assumed there would be an inquiry."
After Mr McLoone received the minister's approval to dismiss him, Mr Convie took his case to the High Court.
He said the action was settled on the basis of a statement exonerating him of any criminal wrongdoing and the payment of a six-figure sum.
Now practising as a planning consultant in Letterkenny, Mr Convie said he was "devastated" by the manner of his departure from the county council after 24 years.
Last week he supplied a list of 10 "suspect cases" to the Donegal Democrat for further investigation.
In an interview with The Irish Times, Mr McLoone said the county council would be strenuously defending its record.
"Gerry Convie controlled planning in Donegal for 20 years and must have been involved in 30,000 to 40,000 decisions, so that puts it in perspective," the county manager said.
Mr McLoone said he had delegated responsibility for planning to other senior officials so that he could concentrate on strategic issues, including economic development and internal reorganisation. "I don't know what his agenda is", he declared.
Mr McLoone, who is also chairman of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service and a former general manager of Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, said he had placed the entire file relating to the issues surrounding Mr Convie's suspension on the public record for anyone to read.
He insisted that Mr Convie had not complied with the statutory requirement for local authority members and officials to declare their interests in land transactions and said it had taken him six months to "get to the bottom of what happened in Magheroarty".
As he told the council on Monday, he would not have sought Mr Convie's removal from office merely for an "error of judgment". The issues involved were much more serious, though he accepted that the former planner had not been accused of criminal wrongdoing.
Mr McLoone also rejected allegations of bullying, saying it was much more likely that personality conflicts were involved. He also denied that decisions had been made behind Mr Convie's back or that there was any favouritism in the administration of planning in Co Donegal.
The county manager said that if anyone had evidence of any wrongdoing in relation to planning matters in the county, they should bring this forward and it would be investigated fully. Otherwise, they should withdraw "unsubstantiated and seriously damaging allegations". After the manager had read his statement, members of the county council expressed full confidence in him and in the council's planning staff. Some of them also expressed concern that there might be any implication that they were involved in corrupt practices.
