The Taoiseach has said that a party at the Department of Foreign Affairs in June 2020 was “wrong”.
He also confirmed that he had spoken to Minister Simon Coveney about the controversial event in recent weeks.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin condemned the event that took place on the night that Ireland was elected into the United Nations Security Council in June 2020.
He said: “That was wrong what happened. It was a lapse of judgement, without question."
He added, however, that the team in the department “didn’t expect” Ireland to be elected on the first count, and were there to work the phones for the second count.
The Taoiseach told Morning Ireland on RTE Radio One: “That’s why workers were there that evening. They have accepted it was wrong and they have apologised. I think balance and proportionality has to apply.
“What strikes me is that it was impromptu, not organised by the workers.”
Micheal Martin also said that he wasn’t aware of the event taking place as he was not in Government at the time due to ongoing negotiations, but “a lot of people apparently were”.
“No one said anything in 18 months, it seems to me, until recent times,” he said.
The Taoiseach said that he understands why it upset so many people who couldn’t hold proper funerals, be there for the birth of a child and much more. He said: “In the context of the time, it was wrong.”
When challenged on how long it took for the department staff to come clean on the event, Martin said that there “was no refusal to accept that this was a wrong thing to do".
The matter is done with though, as far as the Taoiseach is concerned. He said: "Within public service, there are disciplinary codes. There are various responsibilities and so on.
“I'm not a vindictive person. I generally don’t think that's how we should approach this. I don't think it was a systemic issue, to be fair.
