#Golfgate reaction: Ex-Fine Gael leader doesn't believe Phil Hogan should resign

Regina Doherty rejected a statement from Commissioner Hogan (pictured) who said he had consulted with the Irish Hotels Federation before he attended the event. File Picture: Sam Boal

Former Fine Gael leader, Alan Dukes, has said that the Minister for Agriculture Dara Calleary and Senator Jerry Buttimer "had no option but to resign", but he believes that EU Commissioner Phil Hogan does not have to resign.

However, former Minister for Social Protection, Regina Doherty, has said it was now up to Commissioner Hogan’s senior people to determine if his position had been called into question.

Mr Dukes believes it was "inevitable" that Mr Calleary and Mr Buttimer would resign, saying: "They are people with significant political offices who should have been giving an example.

I have spoken with the Taoiseach. He has refused my request to recall the Dail. He is wrong. The government is increasingly chaotic, confused, with no direction. They must be held to account.

— Mary Lou McDonald (@MaryLouMcDonald) August 21, 2020

"They clearly had an obligation to do the kind of things that all the rest of us are doing. The government and NPHET message right from the beginning has been that each individual one of us has to play a part in dealing with this and they were clearly in breach of the kind of advice that was being given. 

"They had no option but to resign. That's the case for office-holders. They should resign."

The former Fine Gael leader said the Covid-19 committee needs to have before it people who have been articulating advice around the virus so that they can really explain what the advice is.

Govt office-holders should resign, I don't think there is a case for Phil Hogan to resign, it was an egregiously stupid thing for him to have done and similarly for Seamus Woulfe but I don't think that in any way they are in the same position in relation to public opinion and the public action we need to take in this country to deal with this.

"Seamus Woulfe has not broken the law, he has broken guidelines. I don't think that this event in any way calls into question his judgement as a Supreme Court judge. The case for Dara Calleary and Jerry Buttimer is completely different.

Fine Gael Senator Regina Doherty told RTÉ radio’s Today with Sarah McInerney show that the decision by the former Attorney General, Supreme Court judge Seamus Wolfe, to attend displayed “a stunning lapse of judgement.” 

All those who attended now had to answer for what had happened, she said.

Who thought it was okay to hold a hooley of a golf society? 

"It was a gross and stunning misreading of the public mood. We expect more from our leaders.”

Ms Doherty pointed out that he had worked closely on the drafting of the regulations at the early stages of the pandemic. 

It was very strange that he had not walked away, she said.

Ms Doherty rejected a statement from Commissioner Hogan who said he had consulted with the Irish Hotels Federation before he attended the event. It was too easy to blame the Hotels Federation, she said.

“Anyone who walked into that room and saw the set up should have walked away. They shouldn’t have been there in the first place.”

The current Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath has said it is up to the authorities to question why the golf dinner in Clifden went ahead.

The event should not have gone ahead he told Newstalk’s Pat Kenny Show. The public had made huge sacrifices, he said and the Government needed to show leadership in following the public health guidelines.

Dara Calleary’s decision to resign had been “the right one for the right reason” and “he will be hurt by this,” he said.

Mr McGrath described Mr Calleary as “a very honourable person. I have known him for over 20 years, he is a really committed public representative. 

"He went out of a sense of loyalty to the Killilea family but it was not right to do so because it was in contravention of the guidelines. It sets the wrong example.” 

To the best of his knowledge Dara Calleary did not play golf and had attended the dinner, he added.

We have all worked so hard for so long. People have sacrificed so much. I am struggling to put words on how shocking & upsetting I find what has happened. People are gutted & anger is palpable. I feel that too. But we can’t let this stop us all working to keep each other safe

— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) August 21, 2020

All of those who attended will need to reflect on what had happened, but it was up to each individual to decide what they should do, said Mr McGrath.

The Government was determined that the public health message get back on track. 

Mr McGrath said: “That’s what matters at the end of the day when you cut out the politics.” 

He added that the last few weeks had been difficult for the Government saying "to lose two Ministers in the manner in which they did was regrettable. Both situations had been avoidable."

RighttoChange TD, Joan Collins, has called on the EU Commissioner to resign. 

She said Mr Hogan should follow Dara Calleary and Jerry Buttimer who both resigned.

Ms Collins said: "He holds a high profile position, his claim that he fully complied with quarantine requirements simply don’t hold up. He should go."