Fine Gael TD set to escape disciplinary action

Maverick Fine Gael TD Peter Matthews is likely to escape disciplinary action despite helping plunge his party into ridicule.

The usually publicity hungry backbench TD went to ground yesterday after farcical scenes in the finance committee — of which he is a member — saw the Government lose a vote in highly embarrassing circumstances.

Colleagues indicated they held Mr Matthews — a self-styled banking expert — responsible for the slapstick scenes, with Fine Gael TD Liam Twomey branding him “naive”.

Despite pressure from party colleagues, Mr Matthews put down a motion at a private session of the committee insisting that Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan give evidence to the body by the end of next week. The meeting would concern the €3.1bn promissory note being paid to the ECB for the Anglo bailout on Mar 31.

After being warned he would lose the whip if he went ahead with the matter, Mr Matthews voted against his own motion.

Things then took another embarrassing twist as committee vice-chairman Mr Twomey and fellow Fine Gael member Kieran O’Donnell then left the room to call party members who had not shown up for the meeting.

They then found themselves locked out of the committee room for the vote. Opposition parties won an 11-9 victory to write to Mr Honohan to call on him to attend by next Friday.

Though there is widespread anger within Fine Gael at the actions of Mr Matthews, a senior source said disciplinary action was unlikely as he had not voted against the party line.

Asked if he was angry with the way Mr Matthews had behaved, Mr Twomey said there had been a “certain naivety” in his actions.

“It was a frustrating experience because I spoke to Peter the day before and said that this was not the way we did our business and asked him to withdraw the letter.

“I don’t think it warrants Peter being expelled from the Fine Gael party.

“I would say a number of the committee members were annoyed Peter was so insistent on this,” said Mr Twomey.