Fine Gael deputy leader Simon Coveney has refused to say whether he is still in contact with former deputy planning chief Paul Hyde following his jail sentence.
Mr Hyde, a former deputy chair of An Bord Pleanála, was sentenced to two months in jail last month for breaches of planning laws.
In March, he was charged with nine counts of making false or misleading declarations of interest to An Bord Pleanála between 2014 and 2022.
