McDaid to withdraw support from Govt

Fianna Fáil TD and former minister Jim McDaid has confirmed he is to withdraw his support from the Government.

He said he came to a decision following a "farcical" party meeting in Donegal last night.

In a letter today to Fianna Fáil Chief Whip Pat Carey, McDaid said "it was made clear to him" at the inaugural meeting of the Letterkenny/Millford Ceann Comhairle that he was "superfluous to the requirements" of Fianna Fáil.

However he said he would not "stand over the party being decimated either locally or nationally".

He reiterated his calls for a general election, claiming that it would be in the interest of Fianna Fáil and by extension, in the interest of the country.

Outlining how he intends to vote in the Dáil, he said: "In a voting situation on the negative side one can abstain, be absent or against.

"I have exercised two of those options in the past and now feel free to exercise the third, if and when I deem it necessary."

Deputy McDaid lost the Fianna Fáil whip last year after abstaining from a vote on the cervical cancer vaccination programme.