A row has broken out in Fine Gael over claims by one of its election candidates that another party representative was involved in planning corruption.
Mr Colm MacEochaidh wrote in The Irish Times last week that one of his party colleagues and a Fianna Fáil politician sought a £20,000 bribe in connection with a land rezoning two years ago.
However, he declined to name the politicians or reveal their identities to the Flood tribunal, saying he was bound to confidentiality by his informant.
Now a member of the Fine Gael national executive council has called on Mr MacEochaidh to withdraw as an election candidate if he fails to reveal to the tribunal the identities of those allegedly involved in corruption.
Mr Declan Alcock, a Carlow county councillor, accused Mr MacEochaidh of "casting a cloud of suspicion" over all politicians in Fine Gael with his allegations.
Mr Alcock said he had spoken to the party general secretary, Mr Tom Curran, and would raise the matter at an executive council meeting.
Yesterday Mr MacEochaidh said there was already a cloud of suspicion over county councillors arising from rezoning decisions.
This, he said, was why he had proposed giving land rezoning power to a national land-use commission.
In 1995 Mr MacEochaidh co-sponsored a reward for information on planning corruption, which ultimately led to the setting up of the Flood tribunal.
He was recently selected to stand for Fine Gael in Dublin South East.
