Spokespeople for Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Tánaiste Micheál Martin and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan have all expressed “full confidence” in Junior Minister Niall Collins.
It comes as the Fianna Fáil TD agreed to make a statement to the Dáil in relation to planning permission he obtained for his Limerick home in the coming days.
He has stated that he acted correctly in connection with a planning application over two decades ago and disputed allegations in an article by online publication The Ditch.
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The Irish Mirror understands that it is now anticipated that Minister Collins will make the statement either on Wednesday or Thursday.
Spokespeople for the three coalition leaders all expressed confidence in Minister Collins earlier.
A spokesman for the Tánaiste said that Minister Collins had spoken to Mr Martin on Monday evening.
He said: “[Minister Collins] has requested a copy of his planning application so when he gets that I can confirm it is his intention to give a statement to the Dáil in the coming days.
“He has to review that from 20-odd years ago”.
The opposition started calling for Minister Collins to provide a Dáil statement early on Tuesday morning.
Labour’s Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said that the “accusations are serious”. The Social Democrats’ Gary Gannon and People Before Profit’s Richard Boyd-Barrett also backed the calls.
When he was asked in the Dáil on Tuesday afternoon by Labour leader Ivana Bacik if Minister Collins could make a statement, the Taoiseach advised that he had agreed to do so and was “seeking time to make a statement.”
In a statement on Monday evening, Minister Collins stated that he was seeking legal advice following the publication of the article on The Ditch.
He said: “In 2001, I applied to Limerick County Council for planning permission, in my own name, on lands owned by my father in Patrickswell Co. Limerick.
“At that time I met the requirements for planning permission in the area – known as the ‘pressure area’. Separately the property I owned on the Fr. Russell Road in Dooradoyle Limerick was not in the ‘pressure area’.
“In 2004 I was elected Cllr to Limerick County Council and thereafter the Council introduced a new planning policy in relation to housing need.
“I am satisfied that at all times I have acted correctly in my planning application and in my instruction to a planning agent in relation to the application on my behalf.
“The false statements made about me by The Ditch website are currently being examined by my legal advisors.”
The story comes just a number of weeks after Fine Gael’s Damien English was forced to resign as Minister of State in the Department of Enterprise after it emerged that he had failed to declare that he owned a property when applying for planning permission for a home with Meath County Council.
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