World of Politics with Harry McGee

If John Keats were alive now, he’d be writing that autumn is the season of party think-ins, because the moment the good weather ends, we enjoy or endure the political version of Groundhog Day, where all the parties essentially do exactly the same as they did last year.

Unluckily for Fianna Fáil, its away day is being held in Mullingar, the stomping ground of Robert Troy who was a Junior Minister until last week before he got himself into a proper knot when failing to declare all the properties he had an interest in.

Troy would have been the Minister who would have proudly welcomed Taoiseach Micheál Martin and the troops to Westmeath. Now, however, he will play the part of the elephant in the room – there but not mentioned.

His fall was a textbook example of an office holder falling on their sword because they were not able to explain away a mistake, or an omission or something that touched on personal propriety.

All TDs and Senators are meant to declare their sources of income as well as their property holdings and shares in an annual return. It’s called the Register of Interests.

An investigative website, The Ditch, broke a series of stories on Troy’s undeclared interests. He explained the first by saying he had disposed of it that year and did not know it still needed to be declared at the end of the year. That would have been enough to let him get away with it; not satisfactory but not politically fatal.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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