Sipo can't say whether public reps should declare sale of property without investigating

Issue arose over former junior minister Robert Troy's failure to declare sale of two properties he owned to two separate local authorities

Former junior Robert Troy said on August 15 that Sipo had 'confirmed to me that there is no requirement to disclose the sale of a house under contracts to a public body'. Picture: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie

The Standards in Public Office Commission has said it cannot rule on whether or not elected representatives must declare the sale of property to the State unless it has investigated.

The issue raised its head in recent weeks when it emerged that former minister of state Robert Troy had failed to declare the sale of two different houses he had owned to two separate local authorities.