Roscommon rebel TD faces expulsion from FG

The Roscommon TD Denis Naughten faces expulsion from Fine Gael after voting against the Government last nght.

The Roscommon TD Denis Naughten faces expulsion from Fine Gael after voting against the Government last night.

Mr Naughten sided with Opposition parties backing calls for the retention of the A&E unit at Roscommon County Hospital.

Most in Leinster House would not have predicted the Government would lose its first TD from the Fine Gael benches.

But just four months in office, Denis Naughten, with just seconds to spare, pressed the red button against the rest of his colleagues last night, supporting the motion calling for the reversal of cuts at the hospital.

"My problem was that I had given my word based on a commitment that I had been given by my party, and I couldn’t, in all honesty, face the people of Roscommon and tell them I was turning me back on them," he said later.

His constituency colleague Frank Feighan stuck by the coalition, despite giving a similar promise during his recent election campaign.

“I’ve called the view that, fighting within Government, that I can deliver, for Roscommon hospital, I can deliver a safe service for the people of Roscommon, I can deliver a safe service for the people of Roscommon/South Leitrim,” he said.