Fianna Fail's Robert Troy has tonight resigned as Minister of State with Responsibility for Trade Promotion following a much-publicised controversy relating to failure to declare all his property dealings to the Dail register of members’ interests.
Pressure has been mounting on the Longford-Westmeath TD for a number of weeks but intensified in recent days amid a number of media appearances.
In a statement on Wednesday evening, Deputy Troy said: "I am issuing this statement as a serving TD for the constituency of Longford/Westmeath to officially announce my resignation as a Minister of State.
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"The last ten days have been extremely difficult, but I would like to sincerely thank the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, and the large number of colleagues across the political divide who have shown their support and who continue to have trust in me," he added.
Deputy Troy further commented on the controversy, saying his biggest offence was his "lack of due diligence."
"I would like to take this opportunity to assure members of the public once again that I have not tried to conceal anything. My biggest offense is my lack of due diligence. However, one issue in isolation is excusable but the number of errors now that are of my making directly or indirectly has led me to this decision.," he stated.
He also apologised, saying: "I am sorry that it has caused so much upheaval and has distracted from the serious issues at hand in this country and the good work this government is doing, and my party is doing, particularly in housing.
"I do however want to stress they were genuine errors and human errors and were not intentional. I hold myself to a high standard and that is the reason I have taken this decision of my own counsel.
"I would like to re-affirm that I am more than happy to answer any questions SIPO or the RTB have and will of course give a full account in the Dail if required once it returns."
He also tackled some elements of the media in his statement, saying some outlets portraying landlords as "villains" is "simply wrong."
"While I accept my mistakes, I would like to state that the narrative being put forward by some media and some in the opposition that landlords are villains is simply wrong. I am acutely aware of the sensitives of the housing situation in Ireland, and on a continuous basis work to assist constituents address their housing needs – but vilifying landlords is not the answer, and it will not help the problem."
He continued to say: "I personally will not apologise for being a landlord. I bought my first house at the age of 20 as I went straight into a job after school, so I was in a position to purchase my first property then. I am not a person of privilege and I have not been brought up with a silver spoon in my mouth, I have worked for all I have.
"While I appreciate elected representatives have to be held to high standards, I would ask the journalists and the authors of a particular website who relentlessly pursued this story to consider how ethical their work has been," he continued in the statement.
"Some media has taken stories verbatim without verification that have been factually incorrect, they have printed inaccurate headlines and misleading articles and failed to make corrections when asked," he claimed.
Mr Troy has vowed to continue in his role as a TD for Longford-Westmeath despite relinquishing his ministerial position.
"Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to assure my constituents and supporters that I will continue to work as diligently as I always have as a TD, and that I will continue to give my full commitment to my party. It’s been the privilege and honour of my life to serve in this Government and to serve my party as a minister and I look forward to being in a position to serve in Government again one day.
"Thank you and I would now appreciate some time, space, and privacy at this time from all media. "
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