Golfgate: Ministers criticise Phil Hogan's refusal to 'accept' HSE Covid-19 guidelines

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There is a “growing annoyance” within the Cabinet at EU Commissioner Phil Hogan’s changing story as to his whereabouts around the Oireachtas golf event last week.

While no formal response from Taoiseach Micheál Martin or the government was forthcoming, speaking to the Irish Examiner, several Cabinet ministers have sharply criticised Mr Hogan’s “car crash” interview on RTÉ where he said he “does not accept” clear HSE rules about self-isolation.

“Sure what's the point in us engaging with the Commission on the pandemic if one of their commissioners just says "I don’t accept that" on the main evening news. It's now about the Commission's credibility on the pandemic. If they accept this, they simply don't take this pandemic seriously enough,” said one minister.

“It also makes a mockery of all of the guidance and advice on Covid that the Commission produces,” the minister added.

Some ministers are very angry at his clear breach of the guidelines in cutting short his 14-day isolation period after he tested negative for Covid-19 in a Dublin hospital.

Even though Mr Hogan argued in his dossier to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that his negative Covid-19 test allowed him to cease his isolation, the HSE clarified that this is not the case when you travel into the country.

“What we are seeing now is so far removed from the original offence, that he attended the golf dinner. We now know he broke off his mandatory isolation when he shouldn’t and he left Kildare when he shouldn’t,” another minister said.

Ministers are also annoyed at the prospect of Mr Hogan escaping with his job intact, having clearly broken public health guidelines more than once in recent weeks, while former Agriculture Minister Dara Calleary paid the ultimate price.

“There is a growing annoyance that Dara paid such a high price, and this is among all ministers, while Phil Hogan is clinging on and looks to be secure. Everyone feels like he is taking us for a bit of a fool to be honest,” was the honest assessment of one minister.

Other ministers have hit out at the seemingly never-ending drip, drip of new information as to his movements, questioning why it took so long.

“Well at least he has presented his side of the story but it is five days late. But he is only coughing up this information because the media have exposed the holes in his story and the demands from Brussels. It is not good enough,” said another minister.

After the Irish Examiner revealed Mr Hogan was in Limerick for golf and then it emerged he was also in Roscommon on the day he headed for Galway, another minister said the entire saga “is beginning to smell”.

No minister was willing to speak on the record when contacted.