Fianna Fáil TD Mr John McGuinness, has acknowledged that he tabled parliamentary questions linked to his brother's work at Dúchas, the heritage agency.
Bullying claims made by his brother, Mr Declan McGuinness, are the subject of an independent investigation commissioned by the Department of the Environment. The claims are being contested by those accused of bullying.
Mr John McGuinness, a frequent critic of Government policy and of Fianna Fáil's relationship with the PDs, said he had tabled a "huge" number of parliamentary questions about Dúchas since he was first elected in 1997.
He said he asked the questions due to his concern for the State's heritage, but when asked if any were linked to his brother's employment, the TD replied: "Some would have been over that." Mr Declan McGuinness is an employee of Dúchas, which was subsumed into the Department of the Environment after the general election last year.
The claims he made are being investigated under the civil service code of practice which provides for the examination by trained investigators of bullying and harassment claims.
The areas covered in 12 written parliamentary questions by the TD last month included:
• The absence of information on the number of hours worked on the pay slips issued to staff at Dúchas in Kilkenny;
• The professional qualifications of the internal auditors and human resources staff at Dúchas;
• The mix of mortar used by Dúchas on work at its site in Kells Priory;
• A vacancy for a part-time cleaner at Jerpoint Abbey in Kilkenny.
Goldsmith Fitzgerald, a Dublin human resources consultancy, was appointed about six months ago to conduct an independent investigation into the allegations.
The firm, which declined to comment yesterday, is believed to have conducted extensive inquiries. A report is not expected for some months.
Mr John McGuinness has been highly critical of Dúchas and raised concern in 2001 about safety at Reginald's Tower in Waterford and Tintern Abbey in Co Wexford. Dúchas rejected those criticisms at that time.
Last month he highlighted the illegal dumping of waste from the Dúchas depot in Kilkenny at an unlicensed landfill site in Co Tipperary.
This led the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, to order an investigation into the incident.
In the past month, Mr McGuinness has tabled detailed questions about other aspects of the work carried out by Dúchas.
While accepting that some of the questions he has tabled were linked to his brother's work, Mr McGuinness said other questions were linked to the work of other staff at Dúchas.
He said: "I accept that I tabled a huge number of PQs out of interest for the upkeep of national monuments throughout the county and long before my brother ever came into the picture."
The inquiry into the allegations made by Mr Declan McGuinness is one of 14 cases currently under investigation by the Department at locations including Dublin and Donegal.
A spokesman for the Department of the Environment, which has responsibility for Dúchas, would state only that it had commissioned an independent investigation into bullying claims made at its heritage division in Kilkenny. He said he could not comment on the circumstances of any individual case.
The Government decided in April to discontinue Dúchas. The agency, which has responsibility for all State heritage sites, is known as the heritage division of the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government.