‘No talks’ over John Perry’s electoral strength

Fine Gael TD John Perry has said he never had any discussion with party strategists in which fears were expressed about his electoral strength following recent controversies about him.

He also disputed claims a sister of one of the winning candidates for the Sligo-Leitrim constituency had only been putting ballot papers into a box at the request of two elderly members who had asked her to do so.

Mr Perry also claimed Fine Gael general secretary Tom Curran had bullied and traumatised his 15-year-old son Jude by wrongly accusing the boy of canvassing in the voting area at the Drumshambo convention on October 16.