Senator Crown: Wallace should resign

Independent Senator John Crown has said he thinks Deputy Mick Wallace should resign after it was revealed he knowingly misled tax chiefs in relation to VAT owed by his now-insolvent construction company MJ Wallace Ltd.

Last week the Independent Wexford TD made an apology in the Dáil after it emerged he failed to pay more than €2.1m in VAT to revenue.

He said he plans to pay every penny back, and has agreed that half of his salary every year will go to the taxman to pay off his debt.

However, he would need to work as a politician for 87 years in order to repay the €2.1m.

Senator Crown said Deputy Wallace should resign, saying his moral position has been "totally undermined".

"I think his position to speak with any authority on the financial issues of state or the way our society functions is pretty much shot," he said.

"He should resign...He entered into a contract with people based on a set of pre-ordained political principles which he has not lived up to."