The Public Offices Commission has upheld two of the six complaints made against the former minister of state, Mr Ned O'Keeffe, under the Ethics in Public Office Act.
The commission report, issued yesterday, will be considered next week by the Dβil Members Interest Committee, when it will be decided whether to sanction the Cork TD.
The allegations concerned Mr O'Keeffe's declaration under the Act in relation to his Co Cork pig farm. He resigned as a minister of state for Agriculture in February.
The commission found that he had failed either before or during a speech in the Dβil in November last year to declare a material interest which he and others connected to him had in the subject matter being debated.
This was a motion calling for the introduction of legislation to prevent the feeding of meat-and- bone meal to pigs.
It also found that while minister of state for Agriculture he had failed to disclose, in the annual declaration made by ministers, additional interests held by his wife, Veronica, his son, Patrick, and his daughter-in-law, Veronica O'Keeffe, in Ballylough Milling Ltd, Mitchelstown, Co Cork.
The commission found that he did not contravene the Act in relation to four other complaints.
The first related to furnishing the Taoiseach and the commission with a statement of interests on his appointment as a junior minister and the delegation to him of specific functions. However, the commission pointed out that while not required by law to do so, it would "seem in accordance with the spirit of the Ethics Act" to make a voluntary statement of interest.
It also did not find against Mr O'Keeffe in relation to the performance of a function of his office in granting licences for the purchase and use of meat-and- bone meal without furnishing a statement of interests.
Another claim was that Mr O'Keeffe had contravened the Act by performing a function of his office in having statistics prepared which showed the numbers of pigs condemned at the Galtee Meat Products factory in Mitchelstown in respect of each supplier, including Mr O'Keeffe's farm.
The commission said that during the course of the hearing it became clear that while Mr O'Keeffe had suggested that he might have a meeting with farmers who supplied Galtee, he at not stage directed that Department officials compile such statistics. "It is clear that the relevant statistics were prepared entirely on the initiative of the official who was making preparations for the meeting."