TD steps down from Dáil voting inquiry

The head of the ethics committee probing irregular Dáil voting has had to step aside after admitting she voted twice in the chamber a number of times.

Fine Gael TD Hildegarde Naughton was forced to recuse herself from the committee on members’ interests, following her admission that she too voted on behalf of another TD as well as herself.

In a second setback, Sinn Féin TD Jonathan O’Brien also had to step down from the committee after making comments about the voting controversy, throwing the process of inquiring into complaints about four Fianna Fáil TDs who voted for colleagues into chaos before it even begins.

Ms Naughton said her actions of pressing voting buttons for Fine Gael colleagues, actually in the Dáil, was different from claims against the four TDs. Those votes were for TDs outside the chamber.

The Galway West TD said she had left the inquiry after legal advice from the Oireachtas.

While the decision is not made lightly, it is one I am making to ensure the integrity of the process. It is vital that there is not even the slightest perception of bias in the proceedings of the committee.

"The Taoiseach, the leader of the opposition, and many other members of Dáil Eireann have voted for a colleague while asked to do so while that colleague was in the chamber.

"So have I, on less than a handful of occasions. I have never voted for someone who was not present in the chamber."

Mr O’Brien has been replaced on the committee by party whip Aengus Ó Snodaigh.

Committee members received warnings about possible challenges to their work yesterday, but have yet to assess actual complaints made about the Fianna Fáil TDs.The committee will meet next Thursday to appoint a new chair and consider the complaints against the Fianna Fail TDs.