Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Bhí mé ag éisteacht leis an díospóireacht i mo oifig. It has been interesting, but an important point of principle is at its root. I listened carefully to the Minister. Being from Wexford, I am familiar with the discernment of the Labour Party in many elections in selecting him as its candidate. Equally, he will agree that people in Labour and other parties get votes from party supporters when they run under their parties' banners. They also attract votes from people who, based on an assessment of the candidates that is right or wrong, support them as individuals. In many cases, candidates depend on transfers that often come from other party candidates. An accumulation of support from different strands leads to people being elected. In this light, it is difficult to maintain the argument that people are elected based purely on party support and that, as a consequence, the allocation of taxpayers' funds to parties should be based on the number of their members elected to the Dáil or the Seanad.

The individuals who are making this case did not choose to be outside their party. The people in Fine Gael who supported them supported the Fine Gael platform, which was a pro-life platform, as clearly stated on behalf of the party and in individual pledges. Individual Labour and Fianna Fail candidates currently sitting in this and the Lower House also made pledges. As a consequence of the Members in question honouring the commitment they made under the party banner and as individuals on a particular issue of conscience, they found themselves not just leaving the party, but in some instances being bullied out of it. Given the Minister's background and that of his father, a strong champion of trade unionism in County Wexford, he will recognise that no trade unionist or anyone of a reasonable perspective would condone or support such behaviour. These Members were not just bullied out of their parliamentary party, but out of their offices. They were threatened with not being allowed to run for their parties in future. It was a prime example of bullying in the workplace. Nothing has been done about it. Unfortunately, our media has condoned it by being uncritical of what happened. Among others, the Minister's father, God rest him, would have been strongly vociferous about this type of behaviour in any workplace.

People have adhered to the platforms on which they and their parties campaigned. For the sake of political expediency, they have subsequently found themselves being dismissed from their parliamentary party. In this light, there are real questions surrounding the payment, which is meant to support them in their political work, remaining with the party that bullied them. The strong principle involved needs to be re-examined. Perhaps the method through which the State funds political parties needs a root and branch analysis.