Taoiseach makes renewed defence of Robert Troy

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has made a renewed defence of Robert Troy, arguing that the Minister of State’s clarification around his property and other business interests has “cleared the air”.

Longford-Westmeath TD Mr Troy last week made wide-ranging amendments to declarations made for various years in the Oireachtas register of members’ interests and apologised for errors in his returns.

Speaking to reporters in Cork, Mr Martin said: “I think he has made a comprehensive statement on this to clarify and put everything out there…

“He has apologised fully, and he has acknowledged the seriousness of the error he made, and I am satisfied with that comprehensive statement that has cleared the air.”

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Mr Martin added: “In my view, he works very hard, he is a very diligent Minister of State, he takes his job very seriously and has applied himself very diligently to that.”

Mr Troy’s property interests received further media coverage over the weekend. He told the Sunday Times that all of his rental properties were now fully registered with the Residential Tenancies Board after it emerged that one had not been.

Rental contracts

There has also been a call for the Fianna Fáil TD to reveal the details of rental contracts he has with Westmeath County Council.

There have been questions over whether he was obliged to declare the contracts, under rules requiring goods and services provided to public bodies over the value of €6,500 to be included in the register of members’ interests.

People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy has asked the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo) to investigate if Mr Troy’s non-declaration of the contracts with Westmeath County Council is a breach of ethics legislation.

Mr Murphy is also seeking a Sipo investigation on whether Mr Troy breached the rules by failing to disclose properties he owned or co-owned and some of which he sold.

Mr Troy last week outlined the changes he is making to his register of members’ interests declarations including registration for the first time of his former home, which has been rented out since November of last year. He has previously explained the omission from the register of two other properties he had sold, saying he believed they did not have to be declared if he did not own them at the end of the relevant calendar year.