TD cleared of breaching Dáil privilege

Fine Gael TD Alan Farrell has been cleared of allegedly breaching Dáil rules on the use of privilege over comments he made regarding two Sinn Féin TDs.

The Oireachtas committee on procedure held a vote a last night after a lengthy debate where it was decided that the Dublin Fingal TD had not breached standing orders in the Dail.

The decision comes after Mr Farrell was asked by the committee to address complaints he abused Dáil privilege by naming TDs Dessie Ellis and Martin Ferris during a discussion around the 1983 IRA killing of prison officer Brian Stack. The comments were made in December last year.