Kildare County Council has suspended one of its officials pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations that a planning permission was forged, The Irish Times has learned.
In a brief statement yesterday the council said the official "has been suspended with pay . . . following the discovery of an apparent inconsistency in the processing of a planning application".
It said the council "is conducting a full investigation and will take whatever further action is warranted". However, it did not identify the official involved because of the sensitivity of the case.
The permission being examined is understood to relate to a one-off house near Rathangan, for which An Bord Pleanála refused approval in February 2003, even though it had been passed by the council.
The board said it was "not satisfied" that effluent from its septic tank could be drained "without giving rise to an unacceptable risk of water pollution and to public health", having regard to the high water table in the area.
A second appeal, made by the same local objector, when the county council again decided to grant planning permission for the house, was not adjudicated on by the board because the couple involved withdrew their application.
Subsequently, the objector sought a High Court judicial review after construction of the house got under way on discovering a purported decision to approve the proposed development for a third time in May of this year. It was on foot of this legal challenge, according to one well-informed source, that the council launched an internal investigation into the alleged forgery, and then suspended the official pending completion of its inquiries.
The Irish Times is aware of the identities of the official who has been suspended, the applicants and the objector, but none of them can be named for legal reasons. The location of the house, now substantially completed, is also known.
It is understood that the investigation was under way for a period of time before the official was suspended. It is also believed that other cases are being examined to establish whether similar "inconsistencies" were involved.
"It is not proven yet how exactly this occurred and we can't say definitely that a forgery was perpetrated," an official source said. "But there are things that don't square up here and we're investigating how that happened."
Speculation that the clerical officer now under investigation had "pocketed" a development levy for the house near Rathangan has been denied.
"We have found no evidence that this was happening," this source said.
