Sir, – Robert Troy’s “open book” saga has that air of inevitability about it.
Perhaps the Minister should fast-forward to the resignation chapter. – Yours, etc,
AIDAN RODDY,
Cabinteely,
Cliff Taylor: There’s one question which none of the political parties want to answer
Cutting off family members: ‘It had never occurred to me that you could grieve somebody who was still alive’
Former army baby Sam Prendergast not afraid to stand his ground in Ireland senior squad
‘I know what happened in that room’: the full story of the Conor McGregor case
Dublin 18.
Sir, – Robert Troy on RTÉ said that he misinterpreted the “guidelines” for submitting his registration of interest.
It’s a worry that a legislator does not understand the difference between a guideline and a mandatory requirement.
He needs to go! – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL O’CONNOR,
Dublin 1.
Sir, – Every bad situation holds the possibility of something good. If we look closely at the Robert Troy property controversy, we may very well get an explanation for the Government’s cack-handedness when dealing with the housing crisis. – Yours, etc,
JIM O’SULLIVAN,
Rathedmond,
Sligo.
Sir, – I wonder has “The dog ate my homework” been replaced by “I I didn’t give it due diligence”? – Yours, etc,
KEVIN DUNNE,
Galway.
Sir, – In August 2020, the Taoiseach sought the resignation of Dara Calleary TD as minister for agriculture on the back of a single unproven allegation of a breach of the Covid-19 regulations. The District Court later found that no regulations or laws were broken at the event in question.
Why then has Mr Martin still not sought the resignation of Robert Troy?
Mr Troy failed to declare his ownership of a property in 2018, 2019 and 2020, with each failure being a breach of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995. That same Act was also required that he declare his contracts with Westmeath County Council under the Rental Assistance Scheme, which he has acknowledged he didn’t do in any of the years from 2011 to 2018. He has also said that he failed to register a tenancy of one property in 2021, a breach of the Residential Tenancies Board Act 2004.
If one unproven breach of the law was enough for the Taoiseach to seek Mr Calleary’s resignation, how can this string of breaches by Mr Troy not prompt Mr Martin to take similar action? Far from doing so, the Taoiseach has said that Minister Troy is “doing a good job” and is “entitled to fairness and perspective”, entitlements which he denied Mr Calleary, who was forced from office within hours.
It has taken just two years from their return to Government for Fianna Fáil to wade back into the ethical swamp which they inhabited for their many decades in power, and their leader hasn’t even batted an eyelid. – Yours, etc,
BARRY WALSH,
Clontarf,
Dublin 3.
A chara, – It would be useful to understand Robert Troy’s approach to the Oireachtas register of members’ interests. Did he behave the way he has because he does not understand the purpose of the register of members interest; he understands the purpose but chooses to ignore it; or after purchasing 11 properties he finds form-filling complex. – Is mise,
DERMOT O’ROURKE
Lucan,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Must Troy harder? – Yours, etc,
PETER DECLAN
O’HALLORAN,
Belturbet,
Co Cavan.
Sir, – On the basis that it’s sometimes said that you aren’t really rich if you know how rich you are, it would seem that the Minister of State, struggling to keep track of how much property he owns, has reached that point. Truly an embarrassment of riches.
Given how much we hear about the difficulties of people in their thirties buying property, his portfolio, accumulated by the age of 40, is most remarkable.
Rather than apologising, it might be better if he would explain in detail to his peers how he has overcome the obstacles to ownership that frustrate so many. Perhaps he should be seen as a role model. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN O’BRIEN,
Kinsale,
Co Cork.
Sir, – Robert Troy has said that his failure to fully declare his property interests arose because he “didn’t give the process the due diligence it deserves”. If Mr Troy is incapable of carrying out the rudimentary form-filling required by the lamentably basic Irish ethics legislation, then he is unfit to be a Government Minister. – Yours, etc,
THOMAS RYAN,
Harolds Cross,
Dublin 6W.
Sir, – On mature recollection? Ah, the good old days! – Yours, etc,
NEVILLE SCARGILL,
Bray,
Co Wicklow.
Sir, – Among our erring and forgetful politicians it seems that the word “sorry” carries the same powers of absolution as the confessional. – Yours, etc,
ROGER GREENE,
Glenageary,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Talk about getting your house in order! – Yours, etc,
BRENDAN STEARS,
Dublin 15.