The Supreme Court has refused to grant a retrial of former Fine Gael town councillor Fred Forsey on corruption charges.

in 2012, Mr Forsey was jailed for four years for receiving money from a developer but his conviction was overturned on appeal.

While he was a member of Dungarvan Town Council, Mr Forsey accepted €80,000 from a man who was trying to get planning permission for a development in Co Waterford in 2006, but he claimed the money was a loan.

Following his trial six years later, during which his wife gave evidence against him, he was convicted on six counts of corruption and jailed for four years.

However, that conviction was overturned on a point of law last month.

The DPP felt it was in the public interest to hold a retrial and argued punishment wasn't the only consideration.

The court heard all relevant evidence was still available and counsel for the State said the offence should be marked as a deterrent.

Mr Forsey relied chiefly on the fact he has served his sentence in full and the five Supreme Court judges leaned in his favour.

The court accepted there was a public interest in a retrial but decided it was outweighed by the unfairness of putting him on trial again, given the lack of any practical consequence from the prosecution point of view.