A former deputy chairman of An Bord Pleanála has been sentenced to two months in jail, after he pleaded guilty to making false or misleading declarations of interest to the State planning appeals body.
Paul Hyde of Castlefields, Baltimore, in west Cork, pleaded guilty to two of nine summonses against him.
The two-month jail sentence was imposed on each of the two charges and will be served concurrently.
Hyde came before the district court in Bandon to learn what penalties or sentence would be imposed on him.
In March, he was charged with nine counts of making false or misleading declarations of interest to An Bord Pleanála between 2014 and 2022.
On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to two of the nine counts against him, relating to 2015 and 2018, when he was a member of the board and prior to him becoming its deputy chairman.
Hyde is a 50-year-old architect. He was appointed a member of An Bord Pleanála in 2014 and in January 2019 he was appointed deputy chairman, the second most senior member of the State's planning appeals body.
He stood back from his position in May of last year amid controversy over his conduct in his role. Last July he resigned.
Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien appointed Senior Counsel Remy Farrell to investigate allegations of potential conflicts of interest against Paul Hyde. At the time, Hyde denied any wrongdoing.
Remy Farrell's report was sent to the DPP. This led to his prosecution and his plea of guilty to two of the nine counts against him.
Read more: Custodial sentence for Hyde reflects 'gravity of offences'
On Tuesday, prosecuting barrister John Berry told Judge James McNulty that the guilty pleas to the two counts were being accepted on a "full facts" basis.
This means pleas to just two of the nine counts were accepted by the State, on the basis that the defence accepted the full facts of the case being offered by the prosecution.
Mr Berry indicated that the remaining seven charges would be withdrawn at the conclusion of the proceedings, which they were this afternoon.
The error in the 2014 declaration relates to a small parcel of property at Pope's Hill in Cork, described in court as "a ransom strip" - a piece of land which is of no value in itself for development purposes, but which might be of strategic value to a third party or to the owner of an adjoining parcel of land.
This parcel of land was not declared in 2014 and Hyde now accepts that it should have been, the court was told.
In 2018, Hyde failed to declare a large portfolio of properties other than his principal private residences at Douglas in Cork and Baltimore in west Cork.
The court was told the undeclared properties had been placed in receivership at the time and Hyde had no control over them and was not benefitting from them.
Defence barrister Paula McCarthy said Hyde mistakenly believed he did not have to declare any of these properties, but he accepted now that he did.
She asked Judge James McNulty to deal with Hyde as leniently as possible, given that he was now unemployed.
"I am asking the court not to record a conviction, and I know it's a big ask in circumstances where there is a plea of guilty," Ms McCarthy said.
Judge James McNulty said ignorance of the law was no excuse.
He said it was a very serious matter and he wished to give it due consideration.
He indicated that he was not prepared to dispose of the matter under the Probation of Offenders' Act or without imposing a conviction.
In his judgment this afternoon, Judge McNulty said, considering all the factors, including those made in mitigation, a two-month jail sentence was the appropriate penalty on both counts.
Hyde has filed an appeal to the circuit court and has been released. He will remain free until his appeal is heard, which may take three to six months.
