Micheal Martin Secretary of State Niall Collins broke no laws in relation to his local council’s decision to put up for sale a property later bought by Mr Collins’ wife as part of an ongoing inquiry into the matter.
Michael Martin said the council has the legal authority to dispose of the property, not the local area committee.
He said Mr Collins was ready to appear before the Dail to make a statement and arrangements were being made, reports RTE.
When asked whether Mr Collins should have backed out, Tanist said it would have been better if he had backed out, adding that the sale had been open and transparent.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Environment Minister Eamon Ryan both agreed Mr Collins would have been better off retiring from the local area committee meeting.
Health Secretary Stephen Donnelly said Fianna Fáil, TD Niall Collins, had made “a very clear statement” on the matter.
Speaking to RTÉ News, upon arriving for the cabinet meeting this morning, Mr Donnelly said his party colleague was “fully accounted for it”.
Asked whether Limerick TD and Foreign Secretary Mr Collins should be given speaking time to respond to the issue, Mr Donnelly said it was a matter for Mr Collins and reiterated that his colleague had made “a very clear statement”.
In a statement last night, Mr Collins, Secretary of State for Skills and Training and TD since 2007, confirmed it had been agreed that the property would be put up for sale after a local council meeting in January 2007.
However, in his first public comment on the matter, Mr Collins said: “neither I nor my wife had any pecuniary or beneficial interest in that property” at that time, reports RTE.
Mr Collins’ statement, released via Fianna Fáil’s press office, read in full: “In September 2008 at a statutory meeting of the Limerick County Council the sale of a property in Patrickswell was approved and sold following a transparent and open sales process, which was open to all. For the record I was not a member of the council in September 2008, having been elected as a TD in May 2007. Prior to the sale in 2008, the property was advertised in the local public press. When the council executive recommended to the Bruff LEA committee that the property should be put up for sale in January 2007, neither I nor my wife had any pecuniary or beneficial interest in that property,” reports RTE.
Rise-Solidarity-People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said in a message on Twitter that he would urge Mr Collins to raise the issue in the Dáil this week.
“Finally he speaks. Let’s see if he agrees to appear before the Dáil and answer questions about it this week,” Mr Murphy’s message read, reports RTE.
Minister Chambers spoke to Katie Hannon on RTÉ’s Upfront and called a statement by Mr Collins “set out the facts”.
Mr Chambers said: “In September 2008, at a statutory meeting of the Council, the sale of the property was approved and sold following a transparent and open process,” reports RTE.
Meanwhile, Social Democrat TD Roisin Shortall said Mr Collins should ask for time in the Dail as there were “open questions”.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.