Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore has played down the significance of the latest resignation from Labour.
MEP Nessa Childers today resigned from the party and said she would run in the next European elections as an independent.
The MEP has been opposed to the austerity policies of Fine Gael and says Labour should not be supporting them.
For his part, Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore says he is unconcerned about her announcement.
Nessa Childers has accused Labour of pursuing policies that are a "profoundly immoral way to run our country". Ms. Childers says she will run in European elections next year as an independent candidate.
She also said that she had increasingly found herself discouraged and prevented from advocating a distinctive social democratic position within the Labour party.
"While I have remained constant in my views, the Labour leadership has drifted away from a progressive policy approach. My attitude is vilified as disloyal or opportunistic when, in fact, I am defending and promoting the party’s core values" she said.
Childers, seen here with Eamon Gilmore in 2009, says the party ethos comes from him
She said the 'low point' for her was when the party leadership "abandoned me for taking a principled stance of opposition to the appointment to the EU Court of Auditors of Mr. Kevin Cardiff, who was Secretary General of the Department of Finance when the bank bailout was decided on".
She said her ability to work for the policies she was elected on is no longer compatible with membership of the Labour Party.
She goes on to say that the government's overall policy "seemed to be one of never-ending, pointless austerity for austerity’s sake".
"The government is on a reckless pursuit of moveable economic targets that has failed on unemployment and emigration and is inflicting misery on hundreds of thousands of men, women and children. It is a policy of cutting services like health, education and social protection while bankers, big corporates and the wealthy are allowed dodge their share of the burden. This is a profoundly immoral way to run our country" she said.
Last week, the Dáil and Seanad passed a Bill authorising the Minister for the Environment to establish a Committee to report within 2 months on redrawn boundaries for the European Parliament constituencies.
Ms. Childers believes the "uncertainty" over the new boundaries means it is not yet possible to say where she will contest in 2014.
Childers is the latest member of Labour to leave the party due to their opposition to party policy, following Tommy Broughan, Patrick Nulty, Roisin Shortall and Colm Keaveney.
She has outlined why she took this decision.
