The State's three Government leaders have said it is “clear” that EU Commissioner for Trade Phil Hogan breached Covid-19 public health guidelines following his arrival in Ireland from Belgium at the end of July.
It comes as Mr Hogan faces questions after the publication of a timeline detailing his visit to Ireland during which he attended the infamous Golfgate event in Clifden, Co Galway.
In a joint Government statement issued this evening, the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Minister Eamon Ryan welcomed Mr Hogan’s apology but said "concerns remain".
“It is clear that breaches of public health guidelines were made by Commissioner Phil Hogan since he travelled to Ireland," the statement said.
“The government guidelines clearly required him to restrict his movements for 14 days. He should also have limited his movements to and from Kildare for essential travel only, and he should not have attended the Oireachtas Golf Society dinner.
His delayed and hesitant release of information has undermined public confidence.
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“People are correctly angered by these actions given the sacrifices so many have made to adhere to public health guidance. In addition, his delayed and hesitant release of information has undermined public confidence.”
The statement concluded that “ultimately the Commissioner is accountable to the EU Commission, not to the Irish government movement or to the Oireachtas.” It said that the Government is awaiting the outcome of the review being undertaken by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
In his report of the trip given to Ms von der Leyen, Mr Hogan stated: "To the best of my knowledge and ability I believe that I complied with public health regulations in Ireland during my visit."
However, Sinn Féin deputy leader Pearse Doherty has said Mr Hogan has misinformed the president of the Republic's quarantine rules.
Negative test
In the timeline, Mr Hogan references a trip to play golf in Limerick before the date his two-week self-isolation period was due to end following his arrival into Ireland from Brussels on July 31st.
Mr Hogan explained in the timeline that he was admitted to hospital in Dublin on August 5th, where he tested negative for Covid-19.
The Commissioner for Trade claims that this negative test ended his requirement to self-isolate, citing Citizens Information as the data source.
However, responding to a query on Twitter, the official HSE page stated: "You are still asked to restrict movements for 14 days because it can take up to 14 days for the virus to show up in your system after you have been exposed to it."
Hi Richard. You are still asked to restrict movements for 14 days because it can take up to 14 days for the virus to show up in your system after you have been exposed to it. Muiriosa
— HSE Ireland (@HSELive) August 25, 2020
The question was posed by journalist Richard Chambers, specifically referencing passengers arriving from Brussels, implying he was referencing Mr Hogan's situation.
In an interview this evening with RTÉ's Six One News, Mr Hogan held firm in his view that a negative test for Covid-19 exempted him from restricting his movement for 14 days following his arrival into Ireland.
“I observed a website, which is the Citizen’s Information website, which is clear for anybody to see, that I could go anywhere I wished to without being isolated because of the fact that I had a negative test in relation to Covid-19,” he said.
“It’s there in black and white, so are the state agencies saying that they’re giving wrong information to the citizens.”
In response, the Citizens Information Board has said the webpage Mr Hogan is referring to is one for those who are close contacts of a confirmed case, with a separate page outlining guidelines for those who have arrived from overseas like him.
The board also added that its website is not funded by the HSE, and is not an official Government source as claimed by the Commissioner.
In response to Mr Hogan's claim during the interview, RTÉ's Tony Connelly explained: “The state agencies are making a distinction between self-isolating if you have symptoms, and the requirements that you are obliged to follow if you’re coming in from a high risk country – they’re two distinct obligations.”
Mr Hogan said he refused to accept this: “Well, I don’t accept that, I did everything possible to ensure that I was no risk to anybody.”
"Well, I don’t accept that. I did everything to ensure I was no risk to anybody"
Phil Hogan says he doesn’t accept the advice from the health service which states that even if you test negative, you must restrict your movements for 14 days | More: https://t.co/RE6IbDVbN0 pic.twitter.com/dw0oTSvy05— RTÉ News (@rtenews) August 25, 2020
During the interview the Commissioner reiterated his apology for attending the event in Galway: “In hindsight I was wrong and made a mistake. I shouldn’t have gone when I think of all the people that have cancelled weddings and events at these hotels, but also people that have lost loved ones in relation to Covid-19."
Roscommon visit
It has now also emerged that Mr Hogan visited Roscommon on the day in which he travelled from Co Kilkenny to Co Galway via Co Kildare in order to play golf in Galway before attending the controversial dinner in Clifden.
The Irish Times reports that Mr Hogan made a social visit in County Roscommon on August 17th that was not disclosed in the itinerary of his movements published by the European Commission.
A spokesman for the Commissioner told the paper: “If he was in Roscommon, I fail to see its relevance.”
Kildare lockdown
The document outlining Mr Hogan’s movements also references his visits to Co Kildare, which is currently under lockdown restrictions, which he believes was allowed under the regulations given the nature of his visits.
“To my best understanding, my justification for entering County Kildare to obtain essential working documents or to get my belongings for the purpose of returning home to Brussels constitutes ‘a reasonable excuse’ under the regulations,” he said in a memorandum supplied to Ms von der Leyen’s office on Tuesday afternoon.
“At all times during my brief presence in Kildare over the period, I followed public health guidance,” he added.
Mr Hogan's account of his visit to Ireland is as follows:
- July 31 - I arrived in Ireland, completed the statutory Passenger Locator Form and travelled to my temporary residence in Co Kildare.
- August 5 - I was admitted to a Dublin hospital for a medical procedure.
- While in hospital, I tested negative for Covid-19 (www.citizensinformation.ie confirms that a negative test result ends the self-restriction period).
- August 6 - I was discharged from hospital and returned briefly to my temporary residence in County Kildare.
- August 7 - I travelled to Kilkenny before the local lockdown rules came into effect at midnight in Co Kildare (and neighbouring counties Laois and Offaly).
- August 12 - I travelled to Dublin from Kilkenny for essential work reasons, which required my attendance at the European Commission office. While in Dublin, I also had separate meetings with the Tánaiste and with Minister Robert Troy, to brief them on events relating to ongoing negotiations with the US.
- August 13 - I played golf in Adare, Co Limerick and returned to Kilkenny.
- August 17 - I travelled from Co Kilkenny to Co Galway via Co Kildare. I stopped briefly in Co Kildare at the property in which I had been staying for the purpose of collecting some personal belongings and essential papers relating to the ongoing negotiations with the USTR, Robert Lighthizer, which continued while I was in Co Galway. This culminated in an agreement on a package of tariff reductions on August 21.
- August 18 - I played golf in Co Galway, staying in Clifden (no formal dinner or reception).
- August 19 - I played golf in Clifden, and subsequently attended a formal dinner for which I have since apologised.
- August 21 - I returned from Galway to my temporary residence in Co Kildare to collect my remaining personal belongings, including my passport, and stayed there overnight to catch an early morning flight to my primary residence in Brussels from the nearby airport.
- August 22 - I returned to Brussels.
In addition to the round of golf, multiple sources have confirmed to that Mr Hogan stayed in a Limerick hotel and dined at a restaurant in Adare on August 12th, the night before he played in Adare Manor.
Mr Hogan fails to mention a stay at the hotel on August 12th in the timeline shared with Ms von der Leyen.
Mr Hogan’s spokesman has confirmed the commissioner played golf on August 13th, but did not address about his presence in Adare the night before.
He was seen dining at the Limerick restaurant in the town on August 12th, the same day that he had met with Tánaiste Leo Varadkar in Dublin, a meeting a spokesman had said was "essential".
On further questioning, the spokesman said that Mr Hogan had travelled to Adare from Kilkenny but "he did not know on which date".
Mr Hogan's timeline also does not mention that he was stopped by gardaí while passing through Kildare for being on his mobile phone.
Public outrage at Mr Hogan has been sustained since the Irish Examiner revealed more than 80 people attended an Oireachtas golf dinner in Galway, the day after new measures were put in place by the Government restricting such gatherings to just six people.
The Commissioner came under sustained criticism for his presence at the society dinner with both the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste urging him to consider his position last weekend.
A spokeswoman for the Commission, Dana Spinant, told reporters earlier on Tuesday that Ms von der Leyen had encouraged Mr Hogan to publish the timeline to ensure “full transparency”.
Ms Spinant said it was “premature to discuss” any sanctions that Mr Hogan might face.
