Fianna Fail's Junior Minister Robert Troy will resign from his role as controversy continues over property he owns.
The Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital & Company Regulation made the announcement after Green Party Leader Eamon Ryan called for an investigation into his failure to declare his portfolio. Pressure continued to mount in recent days despite support for Mr Troy from Taoiseach Micheal Martin.
The Longford-Westmeath TD issued a statement this evening. Although he is resigning his role as a Minister he will continue his role as a TD for the constituency.
Read more: Fianna Fail's Robert Troy left 'embarrassed' after 'very serious mistake'
He said: "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.
"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."
Despite his apology for the controversy over the last few days, he refused to apologise for being a landlord. He said that he has "worked for all he has".
He said: "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. 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."
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