Robert Troy resigns as Minister of State amid property interests controversy

He said they were "genuine errors and human errors".

Fianna Fáil TD Robert Troy has said he is resigning from his role as Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. In a statement, Troy said the last 10 days had been "extremely difficult" and thanked the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and other politicians across the political divide "who continue to have trust in [him]." "One issue in isolation is excusable but the number of errors now that are of my making directly or indirectly has led me to this decision," Troy said in the statement.

“I am sorry that it has caused so much upheaval and has distracted from the serious issues at hand in this country and the good work this government is doing, and my party is doing, particularly in housing.”

Troy continued to say that these were "genuine errors and human errors" and were in no way intentional. He was also critical of the "narrative" he said was being put forward by some media and opposition which he said was making landlords into "villains". "While I accept my mistakes, I would like to state that the narrative being put forward by some media and some in the opposition that landlords are villains is simply wrong," he said. "I personally will not apologise for being a landlord. I bought my first house at the age of 20 as I went straight into a job after school, so I was in a position to purchase my first property then. I am not a person of privilege and I have not been brought up with a silver spoon in my mouth, I have worked for all I have," the statement said. He also stated that he will be happy to answer any questions the Standards in Public Office Commission or the Residential Tenancies Board have and he will give a full account in the Dáil if it's asked of him. Main image via Julien Behal / RollingNews.ie