Expulsion of Fine Gael TDs ‘like a death in the family’

The expulsion of anti-abortion TDs from Fine Gael has been compared to a death in the family by Transport Minister Leo Varadkar.

As the party braced itself for a further rebellion over the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill next week, Mr Varadkar expressed sorrow over the widening division.

“It’s always hard to lose colleagues and it’s almost like losing a member of the family to see somebody lose the whip. But ultimately that was their decision and we have to respect that,” the Cabinet minister said.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny expressed less sympathy for the rebels as he made it clear they would not stand for Fine Gael again in a move that was seen as firing a warning shot at TDs considering voting against the Bill when it returns to the Dáil next week.

“They know the rules and regulations of the Fine Gael party and it is a case of when a deputy votes against their party they expel themselves under the automatic ruling that is there and they know the consequences and therefore I don’t expect that they can be candidates for the Fine Gael party at the next general election,” he said while visiting Berlin.

Europe Minister Lucinda Creighton remains the centre of speculation after she indicated she would not be able to back the law without amendments that Mr Kenny has firmly ruled out.

The rebel four, Peter Mathews, Terence Flanagan, Brian Walsh, and Billy Timmins were thrown out of the parliamentary party after defying Mr Kenny over the abortion vote, and were also being removed from their Dáil committee positions.

Mr Timmins hit back at the party machine after his expulsion, accusing it of “trying to put frighteners” on others considering defying the whip.

The Wicklow-East Carlow TD said he feels “a little bit hard done by” as he said the abortion issue was not part of the programme for government.

Mr Mathews would not rule out standing for the party again, insisting a lot could happen between now and the next election.

However, Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald said the Taoiseach had made the consequences for voting against the Bill very clear and she did not hold out hope the four would be re-admitted to Fine Gael before the election.

Sinn Féin’s Peadar Tóibín also defended his decision to vote against the Bill. He said he did not know what the consequences would be.

Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald said the party was considering how to deal with Mr Tóibín’s actions.