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Dara Calleary replaced Barry Cowen last year as agriculture minister after his predecessor was fired over controversy over a ban on drink-driving
Irish Agriculture Minister Dara Calleary has been fired after attending a golf dinner with more than 80 people.
On Wednesday, the Irish Parliamentary event for golf association at a County Galway hotel came a day after Dublin announced an imposition of restrictions on lockdown.
Dara Calleary had been in the post for a month; he replaced Barry Cowen who was fired after a drink-driving scandal.
The Irish prime minister accepted the dismissal, saying Mr Calleary’s behavior was “wrong and a mistake of judgment”.
Gardaí (Irish police) is now investigating the incident following possible breaches of Covid-19 regulations.
Others attending the event included former Fine Gael and EU Commissioner Phil Hogan, Supreme Court Justice Séamus Woulfe, Fine Gael Senator Jerry Buttimer and Independent TD (MP) Noel Grealish.
Mr. Buttimer, also dismissed Friday morning as Leas-Chathaoirleach (deputy chairman of the Irish Senate) and apologized unreservedly for attending the event, which he said “was an unintentional but serious judgment of judgment”.
Police investigation launched
Mr. Calleary apologized late Thursday night, saying he should not have attended the event in light of the updated public health guidance.
“I want to apologize unreservedly to the public, of whom we are asking quite a bit in this difficult time.”
In a statement on Friday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said: “People across the country have made very difficult, personal sacrifices in their family lives and in their businesses to comply with Covid regulations.
“This event should not have gone forward in the way it did, given the government’s decision last Tuesday.”
Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) and leader of Fine Gael Leo Varadkar said the incident should not have happened and that he had removed the party grip from three Fine Gael senators who attended.
He said he understands how difficult the restrictions have been for people and the enormous sacrifices that have been made and “as representatives we need to lead by example”.
He added: “In recognition of the seriousness of this matter, I have removed the party pipe from Senators Jerry Buttimer, Paddy Burke and John Cummins.”
Mr. Hogan said on Twitter that he had attended the event “on the clear understanding that the organizers and the hotel in question were insured. [by the Irish Hotels’ Federation] that the arrangements made were in accordance with the guidelines of the Government “.
He added: “Prior to the event, I had fully complied with the government’s quarantine requirements since I had been in Ireland since.”
The EU commission said Mr Hogan attended the event in good faith, and believed arrangements were in place to comply with Covid.
Mr Justice Woulfe, a former solicitor general in the Republic of Ireland, said he attended one day of the Oireachtas Golf Society outing as a guest, but that he was “not aware in advance that there would be an organized dinner. be part of the event “.
He said he had attended on the basis of the understanding that the event would be within the public health guidelines, and would “never disregard advice from government or health authorities regarding public health”.
“That I find myself in a situation where burglary may have occurred is of great regret to me, and why I regret it.
“I apologize indefinitely.”
Mr. Grealish, who is captain of the golf community, also apologized.
He told Galway Bay FM that he was sitting at a table with six people and maintaining social distance.
He claimed he was assured that the event met new guidelines for public health, but now realized his mistake of judgment.
One rule for them?
Analysis: Shane Harrison, BBC News NI Dublin correspondent
Dara Calleary has now joined Michelle O’Neill and Dominic Cummings as a senior figure in political life in the UK and Ireland who has been caught in the controversy over whether they have their own Covid-19 rules broken.
Unlike Mr Calleary, the other two were not dismissed.
And so the new Taoiseach, Mícheál Martin, is now looking for his third Minister of Agriculture in less than two months.
It has been a bad start for the new coalition government with not even delivering the summer recession for a while from political mishap.
Again, the problem was – as was the case in Northern Ireland and England – whether seniors of political figures broke the rules of their own administration, giving the impression that there is one rule for ordinary people and another for the political elite.
But it is not just the Fianna Fáil part of the coalition government that is involved in this affair.
With the dismissal of Jerry Buttimer, pressure has now been built on some of those associated with Fine Gael, including EU Commissioner Phil Hogan and Séamus Woulfe, a Supreme Court justice and former attorney general in a government run by Fine Gael.
Dara Calleary is not the only victim of the Irish Parliamentary golf dinner.
The 81 people at the County Galway event were divided into two rooms.
With the tightening of Irish lockdown restrictions on Tuesday, the number of people allowed at indoor meetings was reduced from 50 to six, with some exceptions.
Micheál Martin will now have to appoint his third Minister of Agriculture at the end of June, when his coalition meeting was elected
Sinn Féin health spokesman David Cullinane said politicians who broke regulations at the event ‘should be fired’, especially if they are involved in setting up the guidance.
He told Irish broadcaster RTÉ that the golf event was a violation of the rules.
Mr Cullinane’s party colleagues in Northern Ireland have previously criticized alleged breaches of regulation by the Executive.
Deputy Prime Minister Michelle O’Neill and other senior Sinn Féin figures maintain that they are performing in attendance at the funeral of veteran Republican Bobby Storey in Belfast in June.
Separate rooms
James Sweeney, from the Station House Hotel where the event was being held, told RTÉ that he had checked with the Irish Hotels Federation to make sure the event took place.
He said he was told it would be like if the guests were in two separate rooms, with less than 50 people in each.
Micheál Martin will now have to appoint his third Minister of Agriculture when his coalition government is elected at the end of June.
The Republic’s cabinet will meet later on Friday to discuss reducing local lockdowns in the counties of Laois, Offaly and Kildare.
