Tobin issues apology to Bonner and formally withdraws comments in council chamber

A Meath county councillor has made an apology to another councillor for remarks he made at a public meeting of the council 19 months ago. Fine Gael Cllr Alan Tobin made the remarks during a meeting on 24th November 2020 called to discuss a new county development plan.

At this week’s monthly meeting of the council Cllr Tobin read out the following statement: "In the 24th November 2020 I spoke at a special meeting of Meath County Council. During the course of my contribution I referred to Councillor Bonner as a liar and stated that he told lies. This is untrue and I apologise for the words spoken by me about Councillor Bonner. I should not have aid this about Councillor Bonner and I regret any upset this may have caused him and his family. I wish to formally withdraw the comments made by me concerning Councillor Bonner in this Chamber on 24th November 2020".

In addition to the apology Cllr Tobin has agreed to make a donation to a charity.

Last month, Fine Gael councillor, Sharon Tolan, had to apologise to her party colleague, Paddy Meade, in an out of court settlement following an alleged defamation published on her Twitter account.

Ms Tolan published a statement online saying that she mistakenly suggested that Cllr Meade had illegally parked in a disabled parking space, and apologised to her east Meath colleague .