The hearings of the Dail Committee on Members' Interests which will determine whether Mr Denis Foley breached the Ethics in Public Office Act are likely to be held in public.

The committee, which is chaired by the Fianna Fail TD Mr Tony Killeen, met yesterday to agree the procedures for the investigation, the first since the Ethics Act was introduced in 1995. The hearings are expected to begin early next month.

The committee will be investigating a complaint from the Labour Party leader, Mr Ruairi Quinn, who has alleged that Mr Foley acted in breach of Section 7 of the Ethics Act. That section requires Oireachtas members to make a declaration when voting or speaking on a matter in the Dail in which they have a material interest. In September 1997 Mr Foley voted on a Dail motion relating to the Moriarty tribunal. At the time he had an Ansbacher account.

Mr Edwin Allen, a solicitor, met the committee yesterday to discuss procedural and legal issues surrounding the investigation. Advice from a senior counsel has been sought on the status of the evidence which Mr Foley gave earlier this month to the Moriarty tribunal.

While the committee has written to the Kerry North TD formally informing him that the investigation is under way, more detailed correspondence is likely to be sent over the next week. Mr Foley will have the right to be legally represented at the hearings.

The committee will have powers similar to a court. Failure to attend, answer questions, or produce relevant documentation would be considered similar to contempt of court in a legal case. A person giving evidence to the hearings will have the same privileges and immunities as those of a witness in a court. False evidence will be considered perjury and is also an offence.