Tánaiste Leo Varadkar says a controversial event at the Merrion Hotel last month "probably" wasn't in breach of Fáilte Ireland guidelines.
He has expressed his regret for attending the event, and apologised to the hospitality sector in particular.
Mr Varadkar was among around 50 people who attended the outdoor event on July 21st, which was organised by former minister Katherine Zappone.
The Attorney General has since told the Government 200 people were allowed to attend outdoor social events under the regulations at the time.
Representatives of the hospitality sector have said they weren't aware organised gatherings were allowed at the time.
In response, Fáilte Ireland guidelines have today been updated to confirm such outdoor gatherings can go ahead.
However, both opposition parties and some Government TDs have criticised the Attorney General's intervention in the controversy.
Speaking to RTÉ's Six One this evening, Mr Varadkar acknowledged the guidelines at the time weren't clear.
He said: “The event was not in breach of the Government regulations in place at the time… and probably wasn’t in breach of the Fáilte Ireland guidelines.
“[The guidelines] weren’t clear… and have changed twice since then.
“I don’t believe the guidelines were breached, but I do accept they were ambiguous and open to interpretation.”
He said he hopes he hasn't undermined public health guidelines, but admitted he "probably let my guard down" by attending the event.
However, he insisted he "treble checked" the event was in line with the rules before he attended.
The Fine Gael leader also said it's yet to be decided whether the UN Special Envoy role offered to Katherine Zappone will be filled by someone else, now that the former minister has turned it down.
