Robert Troy has ‘cleared the air’ in resolving declaration errors, says Taoiseach

By Cate McCurry, PA

The Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said he is satisfied junior minister Robert Troy has “cleared the air” in resolving errors by declaring his interests to the Dáil.

The Minister of State with responsibility for Trade Promotion has been forced to correct the Dail’s register of declarations of interest after he failed to include several properties.

In the latest error, Mr Troy admitted to the Sunday Times that one of his rental properties was not registered with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB).

It is an offence to fail to register a tenancy with the RTB within one month of the tenancy commencing.

On Sunday, Mr Martin was asked whether he was satisfied with Mr Troy’s explanations for the errors.

“I think he has made a comprehensive statement on this now to clarify and to put everything out there. Quite a number of what he didn’t declare in 2020, he did declare in previous years,” the Fianna Fáil leader said.

“He apologised fully and he acknowledges fully the seriousness of the error that he has made and I am satisfied with that comprehensive statement that has cleared the air.

“In my view he works very hard, he’s a very diligent minister of state and takes his job very seriously and has applied himself very diligently to that.”

Last week, Mr Troy issued a statement outlining all the amendments he has had to make to the Oireachtas register of declarations of interest.

He made a total of seven entries in the amended document, which included the rental property on Main Street in Ballynacargy.