Robert Troy's failure to declare properties: 'I'm embarrassed I got it so wrong'

“I got it very wrong, I thought I had got it right, I've now made the amendment,” he said.

In his first public interview in over a week, Mr Troy told RTÉ News that he currently either fully owns or part-owns 11 properties, including 7 flats which are sublet as part of larger houses.

He argued that he had not tried to conceal his holdings from the public, saying he had never “tried to conceal my interests in the lifetime since I was elected".

Mr Troy offered some clarity regarding his claim that the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) had told him he did not need to declare the sale of property to local authorities, something he has done at least twice in the past four years.

“I rang SIPO and SIPO were unable to say with clarity whether it had to be declared or not,” he said.

Regarding the fact the rental of his former family home at Ballynacargy in Westmeath was unregistered with the Residential Tenancies Board for nine months, something he said he had asked his letting agent to take care of, Mr Troy accepted that “ultimately the responsibility rests with me”.

“When you ask someone to do a job you expect it to be done,” he said. 

“Obviously it’s not best practice and I accept that.” 

 He acknowledged that he has held two Rental Accommodation Scheme contracts with Westmeath County Council over the past 10 years, which he said he felt didn’t need to be declared as "the contract was between me and the tenant”.

Mr Troy also outlined however that he has a further five properties rented which receive income via RAS’s sister programme the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP). 

“HAP is not required to be declared on the members’ interest form,” he said.

Earlier

Mr Troy said he is earning more than €9,000 per year from a Rental Accommodation Scheme contract, but won’t say what property it applies to.

Last week, Mr Troy said in a statement that he has “two Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) contracts with Westmeath County Council”. He had until now declined to answer any questions as to what properties those contracts applied to.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Mr Troy said that he has “only one RAS contract now €780 per month - 50% share”. He said the other RAS contract had “ceased with sale of house August 2018”.

He added that he won’t be identifying the properties in question “as there are tenants living there as their home”.

Mr Troy, however, only has one property in Co. Westmeath of which he is 50% owner – a house at 39 Cathedral View in Mullingar. That house, which Mr Troy has been declaring as a rental since first being elected as a TD in 2011, has been vacant for a number of months.

Meanwhile, a house he sold in 2018 at Ashfield, also in Mullingar, had itself raised controversy some days ago when it emerged that the Minister for Trade Regulation had not declared the property on his 2018 Dáil declaration of assets – neither that he had owned it, nor the fact it had sold to Westmeath County Council for €230,000.

The property price register date for that sale however is June of 2018, not August.

Mr Troy had not responded to queries regarding these RAS contracts at the time of publication, specifically whether the outstanding contract relates to Cathedral View, and if so, has the income from that contract ceased given the property is vacant, and also as to whether or not his income from same is or was €780 per month, or 50% of that figure, €390 per month.

If the former, the income would stand at €9,360 per annum. Any contract entered into with a public body by a public representative worth in excess of €6,500 is to be declared each year under Ireland’s ethics laws. However, the Cathedral View property has not been declared in that manner.

Mr Troy likewise had not clarified whether he misspoke last week in saying that he has two RAS contracts with the local authority, given one of the properties was sold in 2018.

The Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS), is one of the two main current social housing tenancy assistance schemes, together with the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP), which sees landlords reimbursed by the State for the rentals they provide.

The two schemes have been subject to much criticism alleging that they are contributing to the ongoing housing crisis, given the properties in question are never owned by the State and thus private property owners are benefitting from them solely.

The Irish Independent this week reported that Mr Troy had, on a number of occasions in recent years used his speaking time in the Dáil to call for more funding for RAS – a scheme which he was directly benefitting from financially.