Michael Healy-Rae claims brother Danny’s comments cost Kerry a Government ministry
Danny Healy-Rae TD and Michael Healy-Rae TD at the Healy-Rae Bar in Kilgarvan, Co Kerry. Picture: Dan Linehan
Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae said there will have to be “a lot of soul searching for Team Healy-Rae” going forward and claimed he had been thrown “overboard” by his brother, Danny.
Speaking for the first time since his dramatic resignation as junior agriculture minister, Michael Healy-Rae heavily criticised his brother for calling for Micheál Martin and Simon Harris to be replaced on the day before the vote of no confidence tabled by Sinn Féin.
He said that he had received no warning and that Danny’s actions had thrown him “overboard”.
“Team Healy-Rae has been damaged by this,” he told Jerry O'Sullivan.
While they had not lost a seat, they had lost political influence, he added.
The interview Danny Healy-Rae gave on on the Monday before the no-confidence vote had effectively “sacked him”, Michael Healy-Rae said.
Danny had signed up to support the Government and it was not his place to publicly criticise it, he said.
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Referring to his late father, Jackie, Michael Healy-Rae said he was honour-bound to keep his word.
“In calling for the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste to go, it did not make sense,” he said.
Michael Healy-Rae said it had always been the position that both brothers stood by their word.
Using the analogy of a ship, he said he did not jump overboard — he was pulled overboard.
It was not Danny’s role to speak about a change in leadership in other parties, he said, arguing that it was a matter for the parliamentary party concerned.
“And when you are talking politically, you always have to think about what you’re saying.”
"When those words were issued that is what cost Kerry a ministry for agriculture, that is a fact," Michael said.
It is not the place of an independent politician to tell a parliamentary party what to do, he added.
“I was pulled overboard by the situation,” Michael said.
Asked if he had been sacked, Michael Healy-Rae referred to his brother’s interview on .
“First of all I was sacked on ,” he said.
He said he had been doing a good job and that losing the role had “knocked him for six”.
The brothers had wielded direct influence on Government policy on issues ranging from the Killarney Bypass to increasing the population threshold to 20,000 for short-term letting rules, he said.
“We don’t do blazing rows,” he said.
While he would not comment directly on the relationship between the brothers and their children on Kerry County Council — councillors Johnny and Maura Healy-Rae are Danny’s children, while Councillor Jackie Healy-Rae is Michael’s son — he said there would have to be a lot of soul searching within Team Healy-Rae.
Asked whether he was speaking to his brother or continuing to co-operate with him politically, Michael Healy-Rae did not answer directly.
He said he would have to ensure he could rely on a person and that “they’ll have to have backbone”, again stating there would need to be significant soul searching.
“Reliability is everything and being able to trust people is very very important.”
Nobody should assume anything about the relationship, he said.
“They know I was put in an impossible situation,” he added.
Michael Healy-Rae also described Danny’s actions as “an over-reaction”.
He said a situation in which one brother supported the Government and the other did not was no longer tenable.
“It was a team effort to support the Government for the good of Co Kerry “
He said he would have liked to have known about his brother’s interview in advance.
Asked by Jerry O’Sullivan whether Danny knew he was going on on Tuesday morning, Michael replied that he would answer by saying he had not known about Danny’s interview beforehand.
There is communication, he said, but added: “Team Healy-Rae has been damaged by this.”
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