The Fine Gael TD, Mr Alan Shatter, has said Mr Michael Lowry should never be allowed to rejoin the party, directly challenging the position of his leader, Mr John Bruton.
Mr Shatter, whose position as Fine Gael health spokesman may be under threat in the forthcoming front-bench reshuffle, last night said his party "must make clear that there are no circumstances in which Michael Lowry will be allowed re-enter Fine Gael, or in which a future Fine Gael-led government should be solely dependent for its survival on his support".
This contradicts Mr Bruton's view, expressed in this newspaper a fortnight ago, that it would be "unchristian" to say Mr Lowry should never rejoin the party. Mr Bruton left open the possibility of Mr Lowry rejoining once he had sorted out his affairs and paid whatever debt was required to society.
Mr Bruton is expected to reshuffle his front bench shortly, with party sources saying this is likely on Wednesday or Thursday. He will promote some younger deputies and move or possibly drop some established spokespersons. Contacted about speculation that he would be moved or dropped, Mr Shatter said the front bench was "the prerogative of the party leader".
However, he said he hoped the work he had done as health spokesman would be recognised. He had produced a national antismoking strategy for the Oireachtas Committee on Health and also a major party document to deal with hospital waiting lists.
Mr Shatter said Friday's good by-election result for the party "must be seen as a launching pad for a Fine Gael victory in the next election. Fine Gael must be the standard-bearer advocating and protecting standards in public life. It is in the national interest that we put out of office what is a scandal-ridden and incompetent Government."
He said public disenchantment could lead to the election of up to 12 Independents. The next government must be not be dependent on them, and "the Fine Gael party must in the coming months lay the foundations to ensure this is not the case".
It was in this context, he said, that they should reject the idea of Mr Lowry rejoining.