MINISTER OF STATE for Planning, Jan O’Sullivan, has said the raiding of former Cabinet minister Michael Lowry’s home by the Revenue Commissioners is a “significant development”.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Prime Time tonight, O’Sullivan said that it would be wrong of her to intervene in the process and said that Revenue had an “independent job to do” but added that it is “significant development”.

It was reported today that the Tipperary North TD ‘s home near Holycross was raided by Revenue officials on Tuesday as part of an investigation into tax matters.

Revenue declined to comment when contacted today. Efforts to reach Lowry were unsuccessful with the former Fine Gael deputy not returning calls. The gardaí declined to comment.

O’Sullivan told Prime Time: “The Revenue Commissioners have an independent job to do and they have chosen to raid Deputy Lowry’s house, I think we need to leave that to the Revenue.”

Lowry resigned as Communications Minister from the Rainbow Coalition in 1996 following revelations about his business affairs, later quitting Fine Gael to become an independent TD who has been re-elected in the last three general elections.

Meanwhile, O’Sullivan said she intends to implement new planning legislation and establish a planning regulator to combat the corruption that was uncovered by the Planning Tribunal.

She was speaking to Prime Time in the aftermath of the collapse of a corruption trial involving four former politicians in Dublin who were alleged to have received payments in return for council votes on the rezoning of land for development. All denied the charges.

The trial collapsed after the chief prosecution witness Frank Dunlop, who has a corruption conviction, took ill.

Read: Ethics watchdog received nearly 400 complaints over Michael Lowry last year

Read: Michael Lowry defends and defriends ‘irritating and brash’ Alan Shatter