The Labour Party is to hold an unprecedented internal inquiry into a complaint against party leader Pat Rabbitte which could leave him open to censure by a complaints committee.
The party confirmed yesterday it is to proceed with an investigation following a complaint by former Sligo/Leitrim TD Declan Bree. Cllr Bree says Mr Rabbitte accused him falsely, in a letter published in The Irish Times in September, of using his position as mayor of Sligo to stop Traveller accommodation going into his own electoral ward.
The complaints committee can impose penalties ranging from expulsion or suspension to a decision to note the complaint without taking any action.
The inquiry will be viewed as a sign of the worsening rift between the Sligo-based councillor and Mr Rabbitte.
Mr Bree was himself the subject of a recent investigation following a complaint against him by the secretary of the local party constituency. The complaint was upheld with a recommendation that no action be taken. Mr Bree had been accused of bringing the party into disrepute after he refused to apologise for criticising Labour councillors who voted against the Sligo Traveller Accommodation Programme.
Mr Bree this week lodged an appeal against the upholding of the complaint against him.
The complaint against Mr Rabbitte follows a letter he wrote to The Irish Times on September 5th in which he accused Mr Bree of using his position to stop Traveller accommodation going into his own electoral ward.
Mr Bree described the allegation as scurrilous and in a letter to general secretary Mike Allen said the minutes of Sligo Borough Council would confirm he had supported an attempt to provide accommodation for young Traveller couples in his ward.
The general secretary had until yesterday to decide, and a party spokesman confirmed a complaints committee will now be selected and a hearing held.