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FINE GAEL MEP Gay Mitchell abstained from voting on a European Parliament resolution passed on Tuesday that called for the protection of EU citizens from homophobia.
Amendment 2 to the resolution was passed by 394 votes to 176, with 72 abstentions. All 11 other Irish MEP’s voted in favour of the amendment, but Mitchell abstained according to the VoteWatch Europe website.
The Dublin MEP and former presidential candidate voted in favour of the first draft of the resolution but that draft was rejected.
A spokesperson for Mitchell told TheJournal.ie that he was in favour of the resolution but felt that the amendment that was passed encouraged the EU Commission involve itself in the laws of EU member states, something not allowed under the principle of subsidiarity.
Subsidiarity ensures that decisions are taken as closely to citizens and nation states as possible.
“Mr Mitchell clearly voted in favour of the resolution by voting in favour of Amendment 1 but he abstained on Amendment 2 because it proposed that the commission should involve itself in matters of subsidiarity,” according to the spokesperson.
“He abstained on Amendment 2 because it proposed that the Commission should involve itself in matters which are for Member States to decide in relation to the family and recognition of decisions made in one Member State by all other Member States.”
“He did not vote against the second amendment because he wished to indicate his broad support against homophobia and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, as he made clear in an explanation of vote on the record,” the spokesperson added.
The European grouping to which Fine Gael belongs, the European People’s Party (EPP), were against the final successful Amendment 2 but Mitchell’s Fine Gael colleagues Jim Higgins, Mairead McGuinness and Seán Kelly voted in favour of it.
Mitchell, who is joint coordinator for the EPP grouping, has previously announced that he will not be seeking re-election to the European Parliament in this year’s election.
The text to which Mitchell seems to have objected in the second amendment is where it calls on the the commission to “use its competences to the fullest extent”.
The resolution that was passed also explicitly states that “this comprehensive policy must respect the competences of the European Union, of its agencies, and of member states”
Mitchell’s colleague Seán Kelly told TheJournal.ie that he has not spoken to Mitchell about his position following the vote and said that the Fine Gael members had not held a formal discussion before the vote.
Kelly said that he personally decided to vote against the recommendation of his grouping and that this freedom is a regular occurrence.
Mitchell, he argued, has consistently been an advocate for equality for LGBT people.
Efforts made to speak directly with Mitchell about his abstention were unsuccessful.
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One less BMW tailgating me on the m50
@Artur Gurta: comment of the day sir
@Artur Gurta: Classy…not much value on Life one must deduce.
@Margate: do you like drug dealers?
@Margate: I didn’t know bmw’s were alive
Pew pew
Pretty sure there is a car chase. Theres a garda heli going back and fowards around blanch sc and about 20 garda sirens.
@Jack lynch: found the shooter in fortlawn
@Jack lynch: A garda car flew by us chasing a car driving away from there
@Stephen Tyrrell: Hope so.
@Monika Broughill: which way were they going, i could only hear the sirens and see the heli but guessed it was probably a shooting so didnt go any closer.
@Jack lynch: We were heading to Hartstown, they flew by us heading towads the centre
@Monika Broughill: i think they went through blanch from there cause the heli went over towards westend and then back up by the industrial estate
@Monika Broughill: you’ve got flying cars in Dublin…. I must admit you’s Dubs have a paler shade of complexity ….
@Jack lynch: We saw it going but we didn’t stop so not sure what happened.
@Stephen Tyrrell: wrong !!!!
@David Farrell: care to elaborate?
@Jack lynch: no
@David Farrell: Hahaha no problem
@Jack lynch: If he’s got he’s going away for a long… I mean a couple of years.
Another one bites the dust. The UK have knife casualties, we have gun casualties.
Where’s the post I put up asking the question about why ye didn’t report on the 180 illegal immigrants and asylum seekers and counting, that were caught driving taxis in Ireland among them Isis supporters and s3x offenders. Ye seem to be borrowing you heads in the sand. At the last count it was nearly 300 thumbs up in an hour. Yer not in touch with the real world I’m afraid.
Same road where yer man was shot few weeks back.
@Uncle Montys oaf: ye just about 500 yards up it and same last name but not related to each other
@Kenneth O Brien: do you know who the victim is?
@Jack lynch: ye
@Kenneth O Brien: not the say name
@Boeing Lover: same*
Jeez our city has gone to the dogs!! Every day there are stories of drug seizures…which is good and worse…shootings!! Revolving door judicial system does not help our Gardai trying to get the s%$m off our streets.
There dead outside a shop
@Kenneth O Brien: no they’re not. Critical in hospital at the moment
@Aideen Pollard: DEAD
@Kenneth O Brien: wrong
@TheTrustedChalice: nope, just on 9pm news, critical but stable
I’m sure he was a pillar of society
@Rory Mahon: Absolutely. On his way home from “work”
Can we just throw Dublin away? It’s really doing a number on our murder rate.
@Jason Genovani: Yep. Has become an Embarrassing wee spot, alright.
@Margate: yes so embarrassing. My god.
Loads of cops at the border Brit watching
@John Hartigan: Where would we be without Brexit. Ask FG.
Passing by, on the scene, there is a van stopped and it seems they shot on the glass of the door. The road is still closed
Need stricter gun laws… Oh I forget, we have the strictest gun laws already.
Point of order: Mulhuddart is north Dublin.
@Hundredth Idiot: point of order: Mulhuddart is West Dublin.
@kokonutter: Hahaha. Yep west.
@Hundredth Idiot: east Ireland
@Hundredth Idiot: No it’s not…it’s West Dublin. I live in North Dublin…no such problems here…..I wish!!!
Posted from??
Just say no
Plus all the reply’s were erased to from other people.
The new chief Wiggum is doing some job!
Slowly starting to get outta hand let’s be honest here as bad as Limerick was this is on a new level.
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