#Elections2019: TD's 'swing' controversy hurt FG at polls, Taoiseach says

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar admits that the controversy surrounding Fine Gael TD Maria Bailey and her injury claim after a fall from an “unsupervised” swing has damaged the party.

He said he will speak to her about the case in the coming days, amid calls both in and outside the party for Ms Bailey to outline the full details about the injury compensation claim against a hotel.

The issue has overshadowed Fine Gael's election campaign after it emerged that the Dun Laoghaire TD sued the Dean Hotel in Dublin over falling off a swing in its reception area.

Fianna Fáil leader, Micheál Martin, said the case contradicts the Government's policy of tackling so-called litigation culture. Fine Gael TD Noel Rock has also weighed into the debate, calling for his party colleague to clarify matters around the injury claim.

“Many of my constituents are struggling with insurance costs, and these type of claims don’t help people struggling with insurance costs,” Mr Rock said.

Nonetheless, Mr Rock said he welcomes a decision by Ms Bailey this week to withdraw the court claim.

The TD had been claiming damages of up to €60,000 over injuries she claimed she suffered to her head, back and hip after falling off a swing at the premises in 2015. She claimed the swing was also "unsupervised". The hotel's defence was that she had an item in each hand when she sat on the swing.

Speaking to RTÉ, Mr Varadkar said issues around the accident are a private matter and that it happened before she was a TD. But he added: “Certainly a lot of our candidates have said to me that it came up on the doors and did us some reputational damage. It is hard to quantify that though but I think she has now withdrawn the case and I will have a chance to speak to her next week. I haven't had a chance to do that this week. I'd prefer to do that first.”

It has also emerged that Ms Bailey, who claimed to have had trouble moving and sitting after the July 2015 accident, ran a 10km race in her local area just three weeks after the swing fall.

Speaking to the media during the week, Ms Bailey said: “I had nothing to hide. I had an accident, I was hurt and I had medical bills as a result of the accident.”

She said she has decided to withdraw the case because “the past week has been very difficult for my family” and is a distraction from political work.

The TD has also not publicly responded to further media queries about a personal injuries action filed in the name of Maria Bailey against Aer Lingus, her former employer, in 2004. She began working with the airline in 2000 with the ground staff and later went on to be a politician.

Other politicians have also criticised the taking of the case. In the Seanad, Senator Michael McDowell said that “if the Government is serious about driving down the claims culture, we cannot stand idly by when adults with two objects, one in each hand, lose their seat and fall off a swing and then claim that there should have been a supervisor looking after them".