Government ministers and politicians from all three of the main parties reported to have breached public health guidelines in Leinster House and the Convention Centre

Government ministers and politicians from the three main political parties were among those reported to have breached public-health guidelines in Leinster House and the Convention Centre.

In one incident, a minister was dismissive of the compliance staff who had asked a large group of TDs to keep their distance.

A log of the complaint said: “I approached Minister [redacted] regarding this who pointed at her colleagues and told me jokingly it was them I needed to police.

“I told her that we were only two people and that we needed their help in managing this.”

That complaint detailed how there had been a significant group of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael ministers, along with backbenchers, gathered too closely together in the Convention Centre on 7 October 2020.

An email said: “In total, we visited this area over eight times in the half hour, with at least four verbal interactions asking them to separate.

“It was clear in some cases, those seated had moved their tables and chairs out of line to be closer to each other. This was evident between Minister [redacted] and Minister [redacted] although we couldn’t be certain which of them had done the moving.”

In another reported incident, a member of Sinn Féin was part a group of TDs who were told to leave greater distance between each other on an escalator in the Convention Centre.

According to an Oireachtas log from October 13 last year, the Sinn Féin member was alleged to have said: “Sure what difference does it make. We haven’t got it.”

They then added: “We’ve all had it at this stage. It’s been here since Christmas.”

The Information Commissioner has ruled however, that the identities of the politicians should not be disclosed.

In a decision, they said that the right to know of the public did not outweigh the right to privacy of the elected representatives involved.

If you’d like to keep up to date on all our latest cases and documents, sign up for our monthly newsletter at this link.