‘Fianna Fáil needs somebody like Peter Casey to shake it up,’ election runner-up insists

Fianna Fáil TDs have outright rejected Peter Casey’s calls to allow him to join and make him party leader, saying he would be “eaten alive” in real politics and will never be welcomed because he is “scapegoating” minority groups.

A dozen Fianna Fáil TDs backed the party hierarchy’s decision to ignore Mr Casey’s takeover overtures, despite one TD privately saying the businessman’s controversial remarks about Travellers are “the one thing most of us think”.