Sligo TD Marc MacSharry has quit Fianna Fáil and launched a stinging attack on the Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
In a statement this morning, Deputy MacSharry said he was resigning his membership of the party but would continue serving as an independent TD.
He accused the Taoiseach of using a complaint made against him by local Fianna Fáil Cllr Donal Gilroy for his own political gain.
Cllr Gilroy accused Deputy MacSharry of bullying after he sent him angry, expletive-laden texts in a WhatsApp group he had set up to communicate with party councillors in his constituency.
Deputy MacSharry’s readmission to the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party was delayed after the complaint was received.
Resignation & recent complaint. pic.twitter.com/XCwtZLmz23
— Marc MacSharryTD (@MarcMacsharryTD) November 2, 2022
“It was a robust issue and robust language was used,” Deputy MacSharry wrote in his statement this morning.
“Instead of arranging an investigation of this local political dispute, the Taoiseach used the complaint for political gain at national level to delay and prevent my re-admission to the parliamentary party.
“He knows that I am critical of his performance as Taoiseach and his support within the parliamentary party is wafer-thin.
“My re-admission would have been a problem for him, so he has used this complaint for his own purposes.”
Investigation
He went on to describe the Fianna Fáil investigation into the complaints as a non-starter accusing the Taoiseach and Chief Whip Jack Chambers of breaching confidentiality by making public statements on the matter.
In his letter, Deputy MacSharry published the complaint made against him, including the WhatsApp messages he sent to the group.
In the messages, he criticises Cllr Gilroy for going on local radio to discuss the delivery of the new Cath lab for Sligo University Hospital.
Deputy MacSharry has claimed he supported the government in a no-confidence motion during the summer in exchange for commitments the lab would be delivered.
The Taoiseach has denied making the deal and Cllr Gilroy told Ocean FM the party would continue to put pressure on the HSE to deliver on the project.
'Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory'
In his WhatsApp messages, Deputy MacSharry accused the Cllr of “trying to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory”, adding: “Ye fairly tried to f**k me up there throwing water all over it.”
After a second radio appearance, he sent a second expletive-laden message to the Councillor.
Cllr Gilroy accused Deputy MacSharry of bullying and said he should have raised his concerns with him privately instead of attacking him in a WhatsApp group.
In his statement this morning, Deputy MacSharry said the complaint was “highly politically motivated”, noting its “highly suspicious timing” on the eve of a vote on his readmission to the party.
He accused the Taoiseach of inventing party rules on the hoof to ‘suit his own political will and agenda’.
