Quinn 'regrets' Broughan move

Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn said today the expulsion of Tommy Broughan from the Labour Party was to be regretted.

However, he said he did not expect to see other party colleagues joining the Dublin North East TD on the Independent benches.

Mr Broughan was expelled from the parliamentary party yesterday afternoon after voting against the Government on a procedural motion seeking more time for debate on a motion extending the bank guarantee for another year.

The TD later voted against the motion, which was opposed by the Labour Party when introduced by the previous government in the autumn of 2008. The motion was passed by 99 votes to 30.

Speaking after his expulsion from the party yesterday, Mr Broughan urged other Labour TDs to join him on the opposition benches. Mr Broughan said he would like to see all of the other Labour TDs lining up with him in opposing elements of the Government's economic policy.

Tánaiste and Labour leader Eamon Gilmore said he was not surprised by Mr Broughan's opposition, but he insisted he was confident no other backbenchers would revolt.

"It wasn't unexpected," said Mr Gilmore. "I'm disappointed that any member of the parliamentary party would not vote with the party and the house. I have no reason to believe that anybody else would follow suit."

Speaking in Dublin this morning, Mr Quinn also said he had no reason to think that other party members would follow in Mr Broughan's footsteps. "Tommy is a friend and a colleague and I'm saddened by the decision he took, which was a very conscious decision on his part," said Mr Quinn. "Tommy voted against participation in the Government...so this is in a way, not a surprise but I regret it.”

The controversial bank guarantee scheme covers AIB, Bank of Ireland, the former Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide, Irish Life Permanent and EBS. It was due to expire at the end of December and was subject to European Commission approval every six months.

Fine Gael and Labour comfortably won the vote to extend the scheme, with support from Fianna Fáil.

Mr Broughan joins two other former Government TDs, former Labour minister of state Willie Penrose and former Fine Gael TD Denis Naughten on the Independent benches.

The 64-year-old has been in regular conflict with the leadership of his party since he was elected to the Dáil in 1992, although he served as the party's deputy whip for a considerable period.

He first lost the party whip in 1994 during the Fianna Fáil-Labour coalition when he came into conflict with the government over the decision to sell Team Aer Lingus, but he returned when that coalition collapsed at the end of 1994. He was appointed deputy party whip in 2002 and again in 2007 but clashed with the party in July 2009 when he refused to vote against a government Bill giving gardaí extra powers to deal with gangland crime.

A year later he refused to vote against the Wildlife Bill containing the ban on stag hunting proposed by the Fianna Fáil-Green Party government.