“I broke no law. I broke no regulations. But I could have adhered better to the guidelines.”
Phil Hogan resigned as EU Trade Commissioner on Wednesday evening following controversy over his attendance at the Oireachtas Golf Society event in Clifden last week.
While Hogan said that he didn’t break any laws or regulations, he said he regretted that his actions had caused so much upset and anger.
Speaking to RTÉ’s Nine O’Clock News, Hogan said: “I broke no law. I broke no regulations. But I could have adhered better to the guidelines.”
Hogan said he “deeply regrets” that his trip to Ireland has caused so much upset, anger and concern to people.
In a statement issued by Hogan shortly before 9pm on Wednesday evening, Hogan said the controversy was “becoming a distraction” from his work as EU Commissioner.
“It was becoming increasingly clear that the controversy concerning my recent visit to Ireland was becoming a distraction from my work as an EU Commissioner and would undermine my work in the key months ahead,” the statement read.
He added: “I have always tried to comply with all relevant COVID-19 Regulations in Ireland and had understood that I had met with all relevant public health Guidelines, particularly following confirmation of a negative Covid-19 test.
“I reiterate my heartfelt apology to the Irish people for the mistakes I made during my visit. The Irish people have made incredible efforts to contain the coronavirus, and the European Commission will continue to support you, and all EU Member States, in defeating this terrible pandemic.”
In his statement, he also reiterated that he did not break any laws during his time in Ireland.
“It is important to state that I did not break any law,” he said.
“As a public representative I should have been more rigorous in my adherence to the Covid guidelines”
He confirmed to Tony Connelly on RTÉ that he resigned the position himself and that he was not sacked by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Hogan had come under increasing pressure in recent days in the wake of the controversy surrounding Golfgate.
The former Fine Gael TD attended the event, which is being investigated by Gardaí for breaches in public health guidelines, along with 80 others and has been under scrutiny for his movements around the country prior to the event.
On Tuesday, at the request of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Hogan published a timeline of his stay in Ireland which showed that he did not undergo 14 days of self-isolation upon arrival to the country from Brussels, as is required from non-Green List countries.
Hogan said he had undergone a Covid-19 test during a visit to hospital and had received a negative result, and said after consulting Citizens Information, did not think he had to serve the 14-day period of self-isolation.
In a statement on Tuesday night, the government said “it is clear” that breaches of public health guidelines were made by Hogan during his visit to Ireland.
The statement added that people are “correctly angered by these actions”.
On Tuesday night, Citizen’s Information said its advice does not apply to people who must restrict their movements for 14 days when entering the state.
“Our webpage on Testing for Covid-19 covers information for people in Ireland who may need to be tested for Covid-19,” Citizen’s Information said in a statement.
“In this page, we refer to self-isolating and no longer requiring to self-isolate in the context of people who have been tested on the advice of the HSE, and does not apply to people who must restrict their movements for 14 days upon entry to the State.”
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