Minister of State Niall Collins has told the Dáil that in "hindsight" he should have recused himself from a meeting discussing the sale of a plot of land that would later be sold to his wife.
However, he insisted that he is in "absolutely no doubt that my actions in relation to this matter were at all times legally correct".
There had been calls for the Fianna Fáil TD for Limerick County to address the Dáil regarding a story published by online outlet The Ditch regarding the sale of a plot of land in 2008.
READ MORE: Tánaiste Micheál Martin launches attack on 'The Ditch' ahead of Niall Collins' statement
Documents obtained by The Irish Mirror show that Minister Collins attended a Local Area Committee meeting in January 2007 where the idea of selling the land was first discussed. Councillors were told that there had been several expressions of interest in the land.
A solicitor for Minister Collins’ wife, Eimear O’Connor, had written to the council in December 2006 expressing interest in the site to build a GP practice.
The Limerick City and County Council agreed to sell the land to Ms O’Connor in September 2008. Mr Collins was elected to the Dáil in May 2007.
Speaking on Thursday afternoon, Minister Collins laid out the timeline, saying that the January 2007 meeting heard that there were "various expressions of interest by members of the public" in the land.
"There was no vote taken and no disagreements to the proposal by the council executive," he said.
Mr Collins said that a local area committee has no right to sanction the sale of council property, noting that this is a matter for the full council meeting.
He said that the council appointed an auctioneer and the property was put up for sale and advertised.
He said: "I have seen the documents released by Limerick County Council under the Freedom of Information Act.
"It would appear that a number of offers were received through the auctioneer for the property over a period of at least six months ranging from €110,000 to €125,000 and then, ultimately, a final offer of €148,000."
He argued that he was already a TD by the time the property was sold in September 2008.
However, Minister Collins accepted that "in hindsight" he should have recused himself from the initial meeting where the original suggestion to sell the land was put forward.
"When the Council Executive recommended to the Bruff area committee that the property should be put out for sale in January 2007, neither I nor my wife had any pecuniary or beneficial interest in that property.
"In hindsight, and given the focus and perception among some that has arisen in 2023, some 15 years later, it would have been better had I not participated in the local area committee meetings in January of 2007.
"Even though it is absolutely clear that my wife did not benefit in any way from my attendance at the January 2007 meeting.
"When I did attend, it was my full understanding, and it remains the same today, that I would not have participated in a discussion or a decision that in any way contravened the 2001 Local Government Act.
"No law was broken."
As he left the Dáil chamber after making his statement, People Before Profit’s Richard Boyd Barrett said that he "didn’t really answer the question".
Sinn Féin’s Louise O’Reilly responded that he "never had any intention" of doing so.
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