Ex-An Bord Pleanala deputy chief is jailed

Hyde guilty of failing to declare properties but he is appealing

- NOEL BAKER

FORMER An Bord Pleanala deputy chair Paul Hyde was yesterday jailed for two months for breaches of planning laws as a judge told him: "Ethical standards in public life matter."

Hyde, 50, had pleaded guilty last Tuesday to two counts of failing to declare properties in 2015 and 2018, including a "ransom strip" - a panel of land of unknown but possibly significant strategic value - outside Cork city.

The court previously heard that Hyde was required by law to make annual declarations regarding his property interests but had not included the lands as he believed their low value meant it was not necessary.