Irish minister quits for violating Covid-19 restrictions

Calleary who attended a social event seeks apology for damaging national effort against coronavirus

DUBLIN:

Ireland’s agriculture minister resigned on Friday after he said he had damaged the national effort in fighting Covid-19 by attending a social event that could have breached health regulations.

Dara Calleary was among more than 80 guests at a hotel dinner hosted by the Irish parliament’s golf society, the night after he and his cabinet colleagues significantly tightened nationwide restrictions to try to rein in a rise in infections.

Ireland has maintained some of the strictest controls in Europe and the government faced criticism all week for what many saw as poorly communicated and contradictory new restrictions, including limiting indoor gatherings to just six people.

Other politicians, including European Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan, attended the dinner that drew a wave of public anger.

“I want to apologise to everyone... I have damaged the national effort to try and take on Covid,” Calleary told his local radio station, Midwest Radio.

“I’ve let people down, I’ve angered a lot of people, I’ve stressed a lot of people who have had to make very difficult calls over the last six months.”

Prime Minister Micheál Martin accepted his resignation, saying Calleary made the right decision for the country and that the event should never have gone ahead.