Paul Hosford: Foresight would have prevented Niall Collins' planning controversy - in hindsight

With a bit of foresight, the controversy over the sale of a site to Mr Collins' wife' in 2007 could have been avoided, writes Political Correspondent Paul Hosford

It is the second time in two months that Niall Collins has been called on to address the Dáil on his property dealings, having last month had to address the particulars of a planning application for his home. Picture: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

"In hindsight", it would have been better for Niall Collins to recuse himself from a local area committee vote to dispose of land which his wife had seemingly expressed interest in purchasing.

That was the opinion of Tánaiste Micheál Martin when asked about the latest controversy surrounding Junior Higher Education Minister Niall Collins.