As the Dáil rose for its summer recess, there was quiet hope among politicians that this summer would be without the political controversies that have taken hold in previous years.
The summer of 2020 saw 'Golfgate' and last August was dominated by the controversy surrounding an event organised by former minister Katherine Zappone.
They also put the coalition parties of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael under pressure, and saw the new Dáil term start on a sour note.
Ultimately, the Government's third summer in power would prove no different.
Revelations from The Ditch news site, that the then Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Robert Troy, had failed to properly disclose property and business interests in the Dáil register of members interests, sparked the flame that would ultimately take hold of the political news cycle, leading to the minister's resignation, and leaving the coalition bruised.
The controversy saw a so-called "drip-feed" of information. On Tuesday, Robert Troy decided to give an interview to RTÉ's News at One, in a bid to provide the clarity that the Opposition and others had been calling for. The story had now captured the attention of the media and public.
However, the spotlight remained, and questions continued.
While the Taoiseach and Tánaiste maintained their support for Robert Troy, comments by the Green Party leader Eamon Ryan yesterday were seen as significant.
Minister Ryan said that said that Deputy Troy should be the subject of "a full investigation" by the Oireachtas Committee on Procedures, Privileges and Oversight prior to the resumption of the Dáil in tandem with a Standards in Public Office (SIPO) investigation.
A few hours later news broke that Robert Troy had offered his resignation to the Taoiseach. Micheál Martin said that he accepted it with regret. The Longford-Westmeath TD insisted once again that he had never tried to conceal anything from the public, but accepted that he had made too many errors on the Dáil register of members interests. He explained that this led to his decision to resign as Minister of State.
The Opposition described the decision as inevitable. Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald criticised the Taoiseach and Tánaiste for their support of Robert Troy right up to the end. The party believed that in the context of housing crisis, the whole saga had been damaging for Government.
The co-leader of the Social Democrats said that the controversy served to emphasise once again the need for the Standards in Public Office Commission's powers to be strengthened. Catherine Murphy said that the errors made by Robert Troy in terms of disclosing property and business interests showed a level of carelessness.
On the Government side, there's also a feeling that the past few days have been bruising.
While many sympathise with Robert Troy on a personal level, they also believe that his resignation was getting harder and harder to avoid.
Given the nature of the political news cycle, attention will now turn to who might replace Robert Troy as Minister of State in the Department of Enterprise.
It's understood that the Taoiseach intends on taking a couple of days to consider the matter, with speculation that there may be a name in time for next Wednesday's Cabinet meeting.
Whoever that person is, it's likely that their time in the Department of Enterprise will be short lived, given that the Taoiseach and Tánaiste are due to rotate positions in December. This will likely see a reshuffle of ministerial jobs.
It's less than three weeks to the return of the Dáil. Once again, the term will likely start with a level of regret over the events of the past few days.
For the third year in a row, the summer recess delivered another damaging blow to the coalition Government. And the month of August has proven to be politically treacherous.
