Doherty’s comments utterly inappropriate, says McEntee

A Fine Gael Minister is to raise concerns within the party about comments made about her by Government Chief Whip Regina Doherty.

Helen McEntee, a Minister of State in the Department of Health, said the remarks made by Ms Doherty were "utterly inappropriate".

The pair are constituency colleagues in Meath East, and hold two out of three seats for Fine Gael in the constituency. The third is held by Fianna Fáil's Thomas Byrne.

In an interview with The Irish Times, Ms Doherty said she and Ms McEntee did not get on, and that Ms McEntee would "walk past me in the corridor and wouldn't even blink her eyes".

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Ms Doherty was asked if it would be difficult for Fine Gael to retain the two seats the pair hold.

“No, because the two of us are so fabulous,” Ms Doherty mockingly said of both herself and Ms McEntee.

When asked if there was healthy competition between them, she replied: “That would be a nice way of putting it.”

Ms McEntee said she would be raising the issue internally within the party.

“They are utterly inappropriate comments to make about a colleague,” she said. “I intend to address the matter internally in the party.”

Fine Gael Dublin North-West TD Noel Rock, who has previously clashed with Ms Doherty over Dáil attendance, also described her comments as "inappropriate".

“It’s inappropriate for any party member to air a private dispute in public like this. This is especially true for a whip, who is supposed to maintain discipline within a party. Constituency rivalries exist as we all know, but an airing of private grievances like this helps nobody.”