THIS is the statement issued by Mr Michael Lowry at 6.15 p.m. on Saturday:
I have today decided to tender my resignation as Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications with immediate effect.
The decision is mine and mine alone.
Certain issues have been raised with regard to my relationship with Dunnes Stores and the payment for renovation works to my home.
For many years my company, Streamline Enterprises, and I have had a successful business relationship with Dunnes Stores during which time we have supplied a very considerable volume of refrigeration goods and services to the Dunnes Stores Group.
The arrangements which I and my company, Streamline Enterprises, entered into with Dunnes Stores were and are entirely legitimate. As part of these arrangements credit facilities were made available by Dunnes from time to time to be subsequently be paid from after tax income.
There was no impropriety on my part in respect of any payments made for work carried out on my house.
I have decided to resign for the following reasons:
. The Department which I head and the Government of which I am a member require full and undivided attention. It is simply not possible to fulfil these obligations and at the same time deal with sustained attack from certain quarters which is distracting public attention from the important work being done by the Government.
. To fully and satisfactorily answer in the public arena all the questions which have been raised would involve the disclosure to competitors of information which would place my company at a serious disadvantage in what is a very competitive market. Neither do I wish to embroil Dunnes Stores in what is in reality a political issue.
. I have a responsibility and an obligation to protect the business interests of Streamline Enterprises and the employees whose livelihood depend on it.
. The pressures of public life impact not only on the officeholder, but also on his family and close friends. I do not wish to prolong the distress to which they have been subjected, especially in recent times.
.I am satisfied that I have at all times in my political as well as in my private business life behaved with integrity and honour.
I will continue to represent the people of Tipperary North as a TD and look forward to offering myself as a candidate in the next election.
I am honoured to have been a member of Government and I leave it with a sense of real sadness. It is a reforming, cohesive and effective Government which is successfully implementing a comprehensive programme. I believe that I have made an important contribution to the achievements of the Government.
I am grateful to my friend the Taoiseach, to the leaders of the Labour Party and Democratic Left, to my colleague Ministers and to all my friends, in and out of politics, for all their support at this time.