Controversial landlord TD Robert Troy insists he will ‘most certainly’ run in next election

The Fianna Fáil TD also said he is still prepared to answer more questions on his rental properties and business dealings. The Opposition has called for a Dáil debate on Mr Troy’s properties.

The Longford-Westmeath TD also finally addressed questions relating to his participation in the Rent-a-Room scheme which allows homeowners claim up €14,000 a year in rent tax free if they have a tenant in their own home.

Mr Troy refused to answer any questions on the scheme at the height of the controversy surrounding his Dáil declaration of members’ interests.

However, speaking ahead of the Fianna Fáil think-in at the Mullingar Park Hotel, Mr Troy said he advertised a room in his own home and said he was living in the house for the entirety of the time he had a tenant in place.

In a statement released last month, he said he participated in a Rent-a-Room scheme in 2019 in his private dwelling house.

In Mullingar today, he said he had taken “direct action” by stepping down over what he described as “unintentional errors”.

The former minister arrived at the hotel in his constituency of Longford-Westmeath in Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s State car. Before arriving, The Taoiseach and Mr Troy attended the opening of a housing development in the area.

Mr Troy said the think-in has a “very serious agenda on the cards”.

“We're looking at and focused on dealing with the challenges faced by so many of our citizens right across the land and I think that's the focus of the next two days,” he said.

“For my own part, I dealt with the unintentional errors that I made. I issued a fulsome apology, and I do so again today. I've taken a direct decision in that regard in terms of stepping down as a minister but, today, it's not about that.

"Today and tomorrow is about focusing on the issues that are affecting the people who have given us the honour to represent them in Government where you run the next election.”

Mr Martin was asked about details of a Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) report on a complaint from sacked Agriculture Minister Barry Cowen which appeared in the Irish Mail on Sunday.

The newspaper reported that the GSOC report found Mr Cowen did not seek to evade a Garda checkpoint when he was stopped for being over the alcohol limit while driving.

The Taoiseach said every member of the parliamentary party will have the opportunity to be appointed to Cabinet in the fullness of time. However, he said he was limited in the number of seats at his disposal as he was in a coalition government.

The Taoiseach also criticised members of his own party for “navel gazing” and claiming the party does not have its own identity.

“I'm about making a difference for the betterment of people and what people want is the party to be focused on the issues that matter to people,” the Taoiseach said. “People out there are not that impressed with excessive navel gazing or excessive internal analysing and so on, they're not impressed by them. They want their politicians to focus on the issues that matter to them.”