Sinn Féin TD and member of the Dáil Committee on Members’ Interests, Louise O’Reilly TD, has said former Minister Damien English must give a full account of claims that have emerged around his conduct.

Speaking today, Teachta O’Reilly said:

“Far from being upfront, it now appears we only knew half the story about Damien English’s dealings. We are in a situation where information about the former Minister is being drip-fed into the public domain day by day. It isn’t good enough.

“We’re led to believe he told the council that he did not own this property, which we now know was false. The planner’s report suggests that he provided documentary evidence he was living in his parents’ house over a five year period. We need to know; was it the case that he was living in his parents’ house or in the house he owned? And if he wasn’t in living in parents’ house, did he provide this documentary proof that states otherwise?

“It has also been reported that while he was a Minister working on issues involving mortgage arrears and vulture funds he held two mortgages in arrears, yet he failed to declare this interest. This appears to be a serious conflict of interest that he wasn’t upfront about. He needs to be clear about exactly what happened here and why he failed to declare this.

“We need to hear from Damien English in relation to all of this. He needs to give a full and frank account of his dealings here.

“The leader of Fine Gael needs to make sure that Damien English provides this full and frank account.”