Robert Troy's resignation 'the right decision', says Green Party minister

Robert Troy has been under intense pressure in the past two weeks over issues surrounding his declaration of property assets, amongst other things.

Robert Troy has made the "right decision" in stepping down amid controversy over errors in his official declarations, a Green Party Minister has said.

Children's Minister Roderic O'Gorman has said the controversy surrounding Mr Troy was distracting from the work of Government in the lead-up to the budget.

Mr Troy has been under intense pressure in the past two weeks over issues surrounding his declaration of property assets, amongst other things.

"I think Robert made the right decision in terms of offering his resignation," Mr O'Gorman said.

"The political focus that would have been on this issue over the next number of weeks would have distracted from the work of all ministers.

"As further information came out earlier this week, I think Robert himself recognised that the ongoing political focus on this would be a distraction," Mr O'Gorman told RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne show.

However, he denied claims that the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste, who had strongly defended Mr Troy, had been tarnished by the controversy.

Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald said the resignation "casts very serious questions" on the judgement of Leo Varadkar and Micheál Martin, adding that "those are questions that will not go away as a result of this action".

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“This week the nature of the current coalition government, and in particular their failed approach to housing, was laid bare for all to see. As each day passed, further revelations about Minister Troy’s behaviour as a landlord came into the public domain. 

"Properties that had failed to be registered with the Residential Tenancies Board, a property without fire certification, RAS arrangements not declared in the Dáil register, other interests not properly declared, and the list went on.

"Throughout this period both the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste offered their full support describing Robert Troy as a ‘first class Minister’," Ms McDonald said.