The mayor of Killarney and a fellow town councillor will appear next week before the first Standards in Public Office Commission inquiry into local authority members.
Mayor Sheila Casey (FG) and Cllr Pat O'Donoghue (FF) will be questioned by the commission into an alleged breach of ethics regarding a land rezoning around the Gleneagle Hotel in Killarney last March.
The decision to hold an inquiry follows a complaint from the ethics registrar of Kerry County Council after an attempt to rezone 20 acres of land around the hotel and to designate it as part of the town centre.
Planners maintained that the town centre rezoning would have opened the door for high-density housing, an office block, retail and apartments "and a complete mix of uses".
Cllr Casey is an employee of the Gleneagle group, while Cllr O'Donoghue is a director of Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland and managing director of the Gleneagle Hotel Group.
Cllr Casey was a signatory to the motion which sought the rezoning at the monthly meeting of Killarney Town Council in March 2006 and she voted for it. Meanwhile, Cllr O'Donoghue helped to word the motion but he did not vote on it, declaring an interest. However, he lobbied fellow councillors on the issue.
Council management vehemently opposed the rezoning of the lands 1.9km outside the town centre, saying it would undermine a number of current plans.
Planners advised that the land be zoned for tourism facilities in keeping with its current use and an amendment to this effect was tabled by Labour councillor Seán O'Grady.
However, after a brief recess at the meeting in which Mr O'Donoghue indicated to councillors he wanted to press ahead with the wording of the original motion, the amendment was defeated and a majority voted for the town centre rezoning.
At a subsequent monthly meeting, town manager Tom Curran refused to allow it to proceed on the basis that the lands were on the rural and urban divide.
The investigation is under the Ethics in Public Office Acts 1995 and 2001, and Part 15 of the Local Government Act 2001.
A spokesman for the commission confirmed that the hearing will go ahead at its offices next Monday, March 26th. When contacted by The Irish Times, Cllr Casey - who was in Myrtle Beach in the US this weekend attending a town twinning ceremony - said she would be attending the hearing, but that it would not be appropriate for her to comment further.
The commission does not impose sanctions. However, after the hearing it will report to Minister for the Environment Dick Roche. If it finds that any breaches are serious enough to be considered offences, a report will also be sent to the DPP.
Chaired by Mr Justice Matthew Smith, the six-member commission includes ombudsman Emily O'Reilly, comptroller and auditor general John Purcell, former TD Liam Kavanagh, clerk of the Dáil Kieran Coughlan and clerk of the Seanad Deirdre Lane.
Codes of behaviour warn councillors to take "extra care" in planning matters and to be aware of the public's perception.