Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Justice and Equality Niall Collins has called for a statement from the Equality Minister Alan Shatter on the issue of Minister Hogan interfering in the housing allocation process in Kilkenny.

Deputy Collins raised the matter on Order of Business in the Dáil and requested that time be set aside to discuss what he described as ‘a serious breach of a citizen's fundamental rights'.

"This revelation raises serious questions about the conduct of a senior Cabinet Minister, and it is in the public interest that we be given the opportunity to clarify certain matters arising from this case, in particular the apparent abandonment of any principles of equality," said Deputy Collins.

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"We now know that a senior Minister sought to conspire against a citizen of the State in a process where one is entitled to expect equality and due process. This intervention by Minister Hogan is a very serious breach of an individual’s fundamental right to be treated equally before the law.

"For a government Minister to intervene in this manner and seek to broadcast this intervention through correspondence circulated to an entire community is a matter of real public concern. It raises issues about equality, about data protection, about a right to privacy and about due process. Alan Shatter, the Minister charged with protecting the principles of equality in this Republic, needs to make a public statement on this issue as a matter of urgency."

(CD)