Mr. Collins has been accused of voting in favour of selling land owned by Limerick County Council, which his wife then went on to purchase.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin has responded to claims made by media outlet The Ditch, which reported on the controversial purchase of land by TD Niall Collins’ wife back in 2008.
The Fianna Fáil TD voted in favour of the disposing of council land during his time in Limerick County Council, with the vacant site being purchased by his wife a short time later.
Whilst being questioned in the Dáil on Thursday by opposition TDs during Leaders’ Questions, Mr. Martin stated the full story was not being told by The Ditch, and that it was important the story be told in its entirety before making assertions.
“I don’t think the House should be a slave or should be facilitating political campaigns organised by a platform,” remarked the Tánaiste.
The outlet, which is reportedly funded by tech entrepreneur and Web-Summit founder Paddy Cosgrave, was the first organisation to originally run with the story last week.
Speaking on Mr. Cosgrave, the Fianna Fáil leader stated that “I don’t see The Ditch as an independent media platform at all. Paddy Cosgrave does, Paddy Cosgrave is a backer, Chay Bowes is a founding member of The Ditch too”.
Mr. Martin expanded on Chay Bowes, a campaigner, by quipping that the Russian Ambassador is “full of praise” for “his characterisation of the Russian war in Ukraine as a NATO-EU organised war”.
“I’m a fair person. I’ve been a member of this house for a long, long time. But the world of politics has changed. I understand what has changed. I know what’s going on here in terms of the broader political world”.
The Tánaiste added his criticisms of the online backlash to the allegations levelled at Mr. Collins, lamenting the “extraordinary full frontal attacks on the national broadcaster” for not initially covering the story.
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