The Labour Party is "likely" to lodge a complaint about former Fine Gael minister Damien English’s planning scandal in the coming days.
Sources told the Irish Mirror that a complaint could be made to the Dáil Committee of Members’ Interests as early as Tuesday if the party does not receive an answer from Taoiseach Leo Varadkar about the actions he intends to take.
Mr English was forced to resign as Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise earlier this month when it emerged that he had not declared on a planning application that he already owned a home.
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Planning rules in Meath stipulated that if a person wanted to build a one-off home, they could not already own another property.
While Mr English resigned from his ministry, there has been no punishment forthcoming from Fine Gael.
Labour leader Ivana Bacik confirmed on RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne that her party is considering lodging a complaint calling for a probe.
Ms Bacik said: “I did raise this in the Dáil with the Taoiseach last week and he referred to internal disciplinary procedures within Fine Gael. He said this was behaviour that wasn't tolerable within Fine Gael. Clearly, former minister English is still a member of the Fine Gael parliamentary party
“I asked him again on Wednesday about this issue [...] and the Taoiseach merely said to me this was a matter for Meath County Council.
“At this point, we are looking into this and actively considering the making of a complaint to the Committee on Members’ Interest.
“I want to be fair about this, I want to give the Taoiseach another chance to say what action he proposes to take as leader of Fine Gael about this issue, about whether he proposes to take any action”.
A spokesman for the Taoiseach told the Irish Mirror that Mr Varadkar had “dealt with that issue on many occasions over the last few weeks”.
He said: “Planning law enforcement is a matter for Meath County Council.
“The Fine Gael party’s disciplinary procedures are an internal matter, just like those of the Labour Party are.”
A number of Labour TDs have expressed concerns about Mr English’s case to the Irish Mirror in recent days, arguing that it was “more serious” than the Paschal Donohoe poster scandal that has embroiled the Government.
One source said that it is now "likely" that a complaint will be lodged.
A Labour spokesperson said: "It seems the only action Fine Gael have taken is to give him a round of applause at a parliamentary party meeting."
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