Fine Gael’s Damien English has announced that he is resigning as a minister
DUBLIN—Damien English, Minister of State for Enterprise, Trade, and Employment, has resigned following a disagreement over home ownership. The minister admitted in his resignation that he had made a mistake in notifying the county council of the existing ownership of the house.
Even though Damian has resigned as a minister, Damian will continue as TD. It is also worth noting that neither his own party, Fine Gael, nor the opposition have made such a demand. Catherine Murphy, co-leader of the Social Democrats, responded that if a general election is not called, let the people decide what to do.
The minister made a mistake in the information he provided in relation to building a house with his wife Laura in Cookstown, Meath, in 2008. A local needs assessment was required for the construction of a one-off house in a rural area. The minister hid the fact that he was the current owner of the house while filling it as part of the county development plan.
It was said that he has been living in his family house in Castle Martin, five kilometres away from the proposed site, for the past 30 years. In addition, he stated that he does not own a home. Several documents were submitted to prove this. Planning permission was also obtained as a result of this. But online media brought out the news that the minister had another house in Castle Martin itself 14 years ago.
All local authorities in the country are required to prepare a county development plan every six years in accordance with the Planning and Development Act, 2005. This is part of formulating the strategy and vision for sustainable development planning in the county.
Based on this, an attempt was made to concentrate development in urban areas while controlling one-off houses in villages. A condition was also imposed that applicants for one-time houses have no other residence. This condition was violated by the minister.
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