“It is clear that breaches of public health guidelines were made by Commissioner Phil Hogan since he travelled to Ireland.”
Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and Green Party Leader Eamon Ryan have said “people are correctly angered” by the actions of EU Commissioner Phil Hogan during his time in Ireland.
“It is clear” that Hogan was in breach of public health guidelines during his trip to Ireland, the government said in a statement.
The statement, issued on Tuesday night, said concerns remain about the account given by Hogan about his movements but said they welcomed his apology and acknowledged his recent public account of his movements.
“However, concerns remain,” the statement said.
“It is clear that breaches of public health guidelines were made by Commissioner Phil Hogan since he travelled to Ireland.
“The government guidelines clearly required him to restrict his movements for 14 days. He should also have limited his movements to and from Kildare for essential travel only, and he should not have attended the Oireachtas Golf Society dinner.
“People are correctly angered by these actions given the sacrifices so many have made to adhere to public health guidance.
“In addition, his delayed and hesitant release of information has undermined public confidence.
“Commissioner Hogan is accountable to the President of the Commission Ms Ursula von der Leyen, under the legal framework outlined in the Treaties.
“The government now awaits the outcome of the review being undertaken by the President.
“Ultimately the Commissioner is accountable to the EU Commission, not to the Irish government or to the Oireachtas,” it added.
Earlier on Tuesday, Hogan said that he made “a mistake” but insisted he broke no regulations during the goflgate controversy.
He said that he had undergone a Covid-19 test and did not have to finish her 14 day period of self isolating or quarantining as the result was negative.
“I am satisfied arising from the test that I did that proved it was negative that I was no risk to anybody,” Hogan told RTÉ News.
“Because of the fact that I had a negative test. Because my medical people said I was no risk to anybody. I checked with the Citizens Information website which is funded by the HSE and I felt that I was no risk to anybody by going to Adare.”
On Tuesday night, Citizen’s Information released a statement clarifying that it is not funded by the HSE but rather by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection.
It also said that its advice does not apply to people who must restrict their movements for 14 days when entering the state.
“Our webpage on Testing for Covid-19 covers information for people in Ireland who may need to be tested for Covid-19,” Citizen’s Information said in a statement.
“In this page, we refer to self-isolating and no longer requiring to self-isolate in the context of people who have been tested on the advice of the HSE, and does not apply to people who must restrict their movements for 14 days upon entry to the State.”
In a tweet on Tuesday night, Hogan said that he did not say he didn’t accept HSE advice and acted in good faith.
“I never said that I don’t accept the HSE advice, I was taking issue at the proposition put to me in the interview,” Hogan wrote.
“At all times, I acted in good faith on the basis of the information available to me.”
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