Golfgate: ‘Always a way back’ for person of Dara Calleary’s ‘calibre’ - Taoiseach

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said he accepts the result of the ‘Golfgate’ court case but said the resignation of former Minister Dara Calleary was about the importance of trust between Government and the people when it came to managing the pandemic.

He made the comments when asked if he still thought former Fianna Fáil Minister for Agriculture Mr Calleary was right to resign over his attendance at the Oireachtas Golf Society dinner in Clifden Co Galway.

Mr Calleary was one of the 81 guests who attended the dinner event with the party split into two groups, divided by a floor-to-ceiling partition.

He did not play golf but had been invited to attend to speak at the August 19th 2020 dinner in tribute to the late Fianna Fáil politician, Mark Killilea, a close friend of his own family.

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At Galway District Court on Thursday, Judge Mary Fahy ruled there had been two separate events when dismissing charges for organising an event in breach of Covid legislation against Independent TD Noel Grealish, former senator Donie Cassidy, and two Clifden hoteliers, John and James Sweeney.

Broader issue

At a press conference on Friday Mr Martin said: “I accept the court decision obviously but there was a broader issue given what we had just at that time asked the Irish people to do in terms of very severe restrictions.”

He added: “When Dara resigned I paid tribute to the decision he took in the sense that I think Dara understood... the importance of trust between Government and the people in respect of Covid-19, its management and the restrictions that were brought in.

“In many ways what he did I think was a very high price for him to pay.

“He was very dignified in what he did and in many ways he ensured the continuation of that trust in terms of the issue around how we manage Covid-19 as a Government brings in restrictions.”

On Mr Calleary’s prospects of a return to Cabinet Mr Martin said: “Of course the door is always open and there’s always a way back for a person of the calibre of Dara Calleary. That’s clear.”

Mr Martin recalled the Covid-19 situation at the time of the Golfgate dinner saying: “There was a lockdown in three counties... We had asked people to take on board a lot of restrictions.

“A lot of people had made a lot of sacrifices in terms of their own personal lives - having very few people to attend the funerals of their loved ones and so forth.”

He put Mr Calleary’s resignation in that context.