Minister for Health Leo Varadkar came upon an armed robbery on Tuesday night as he canvassed in Castleknock, west Dublin.

Two men, one reportedly armed with a machete or sword and another with a gun, ran from a Spar store in Carpenterstown just as the Minister arrived at the shop at around 8pm.

Speaking on Wednesday morning Mr Varadkar said he arrived on the scene, “my local Spar shop” as the robbery was ending and the two culprits ran past him as they were escaping.

The Minister said he saw the robbers as they left the shop and would make a statement to gardaí on the robbery.

Mr Varadkar said he spoke to the manager of the store after the incident and was relieved no one had been injured. A small sum of money is understood to have been taken.

Howard Manley, who was canvassing for Fianna Fáil candidate Jack Chambers, also witnessed the robbery.

Mr Manley said he saw one of the robbers, who was blocking the door while the robbery was taking place, and gave chase briefly in a bid to indentify them, “but they were much quicker and fitter”.

Mr Manley also said he rang 999 to report the incident but was put on hold. “I tried to ring 999 and I was put on hold, there was some sort of a recorded message to tell them that they could not put me through at the moment. That is a nationwide service.”

He said 10 minutes after the robbery the gardaí had yet to arrive.

Asked about this on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Varadkar said “I will look in to it.”Mr Varadkar also said he had spoken to the Minister for Justice about the robbery.