Green Party leader Trevor Sargent has been told by the Ceann Comhairle, Dr Rory O'Hanlon, to withdraw his Dáil charge that Minister of State Frank Fahey is "a dodgy builder".
The Ceann Comhairle's office was in touch with the Green Party leader yesterday following his attack on Wednesday against Mr Fahey, who has built up a considerable property portfolio over the last decade.
Under Dáil privilege, Mr Sargent asked if Taoiseach intended to "stand idly by while dodgy builders in the Galway tent like Mick and Tom Bailey and dodgy builders in Government like the Minister of State, Deputy Fahey, set the real standards for Government under this Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrat Government?"
The Galway West Minister of State now owns, or part-owns, 20 properties in Ireland and seven more outside the State, along with a half-share in a property company.
"What message does it send when a Minister of State like Deputy Fahey is able to avoid tax in building up a multi-million euro property empire?" Mr Sargent asked the Taoiseach.
Last night, however, a spokesman for Mr Sargent said he had no intention of withdrawing the charge against Mr Fahey and warned that the Greens would continue to search for information about Mr Fahey's activities.
The Greens are "likely" to lodge a complaint against Mr Fahey with the State's political ethics watchdog, the Standards in Public Office Commission, although, so far, that body has not begun an inquiry of its own.
If a complaint is lodged by the Greens, the commission is bound to consider it, although it would not begin a full-scale inquiry unless it was first convinced that a prima-facie case existed.
