LAST UPDATE | 2 Nov 2022

A SPOKESPERSON FOR the Taoiseach has said the party strongly rejects the assertions made by TD Marc MacSharry in relation to the written complaint received by Fianna Fáil. 

MacSharry resigned from Fianna Fáil today citing the failure to properly handle a complaint made against him. 

The Sligo-Leitrim TD confirmed his resignation in a strongly worded statement this morning, saying his decision to quit was due to Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s handling of the complaint from Fianna Fáil councillor Donal Gilroy. 

He accused Martin of using the complaint “for political gain at national level”. 

“This has resulted from the failure of the Taoiseach as Leader of the party to allow a proper investigation of a recent complaint on a political issue made against me by a Fianna Fáil councillor in my constituency,” MacSharry wrote in a statement.

“This recent complaint related to exchanges between us over several months on services I have secured for Sligo University Hospital and their significance. It was a robust issue and robust language was used.

“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.”

The Taoiseach’s spokesperson said in a statement today: 

“We have received Marc MacSharry TD’s resignation from Fianna Fáil. We wish him well for the future.

“We strongly reject the assertions made by Deputy MacSharry in relation to the written complaint received by the party.”

There were calls at the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party last month to have MacSharry rejoin after he resigned last year and voted no confidence in Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney over his handling of the nomination of Katherine Zappone to a UN role. 

However, his readmittance hit a stumbling block, with party whip Jack Chambers and the Taoiseach telling members that “an issue has arisen” in bringing him back into the fold. 

Resignation & recent complaint. pic.twitter.com/XCwtZLmz23

— Marc MacSharryTD (@MarcMacsharryTD) November 2, 2022

MacSharry, who has previously been critical of Micheál Martin, continued in his statement: “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.”

He said the informarmal investigation promoted by Martin is “a non-starter” as “the confidentiality required has been broken by the public statements of the Taoiseach and The Chief Whip”.

“The Taoiseach has tried to brush this under the carpet with claims that I have not engaged. This is despite numerous correspondence from I to him, The Chief Whip and party officials on the matter setting out my position clearly,” he continued. 

MacSharry shared the text of the complaint made by Gilroy in which the councillor said that he considers the behaviour of the TD to be “bullying aimed at me personally”

He described the complaint as “highly politically motivated” and said its timing was “unquestionably suspicious” as it was made ahead of the meeting to discuss his readmittance to the party.

“The handling of this complaint has involved the blatant manipulation of written Fianna Fáil party procedures together with a breach of confidentiality and denial of due process by party officials and the leadership,” he wrote.

“The invention of new rules on the hoof by linking a local political allegation to prevention of re-admission to the Parliamentary Party to suit the will and the agenda of the Taoiseach is unacceptable.”

MacSharry thanked party members in Sligo, Leitrim, South Donegal, North Roscommon for their “steadfast support in recent weeks and through the years” and said he will continue to work as an independent TD.

MacSharry resigned the Fianna Fáil whip last year following the Katherine Zappone controversy that erupted around Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney.

The controversy, which stemmed from the appointment of Zappone as a UN Special Envoy, lead to a vote of no-confidence in the Foreign Affairs Minister.

In his resignation letter, MacSharry hit out at the Taoiseach and his leadership of the party, which is understood to have been an issue of discussion between the pair last week, with Martin taking issue with the comments. 

MacSharry had said that Fianna Fáil party positioning and policy were being determined “in a fashion consistent with an undemocratic totalitarian regime”.