Fine Gael’s Damien English has announced that he is resigning as a minister over his failure to declare ownership of a property.
It comes following a story published by online outlet The Ditch earlier this week.
They reported that Mr English failed to declare ownership of another property when applying for planning permission for another Meath home.
In a statement on Thursday morning, Mr English, who was a junior minister in the Department of Enterprise said that he had reviewed documentation in relation to a planning application made 14 years ago.
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He said: “I have informed the Taoiseach last night of my decision to resign as Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
“Yesterday in an online article, questions were raised about my planning application from 14 years ago.
“I reviewed this application, made in 2008, and it is clear to me that I failed to inform Meath County Council about ownership of my house in Castlemartin.
“This was wrong, not up to the standard required and I apologise for doing so.
“I would like to thank the people of Meath West for their ongoing support as their TD. I will continue to serve them and work hard on their behalf in the constituency.”
In a video on Twitter, Mr English said that his failure to declare ownership of the home was “wrong and not acceptable”.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar also released a statement confirming Mr English’s resignation.
He said: “Last night, Damien English TD offered me his resignation as Minister of State for Employment Affairs, Business and Retail.
“He informed me that 14 years ago, when applying for planning permission, he made a declaration to Meath County Council that was not correct.
“It was his view given the circumstances that his position was not tenable. I agreed and accepted his resignation.”
Mr English's resignation comes just five months after Fianna Fáil’s Robert Troy also resigned from the Department of Enterprise after it emerged that he failed to declare all of his property interests.
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