Donegal North East TD Jim McDaid has withdrawn his support for the Government after an internal Fianna Fáil cumann row.
Ongoing tensions between Dr McDaid’s camp and that of his Fianna Fáil constituency colleague Niall Blaney are understood to be at the centre of the dispute.
The Letterkenny-based TD and a number of his followers walked out of the inaugural meeting of the newly-formed Letterkenny-Milford cumman last night after two supporters of Mr Blaney were appointed to officer roles. The Milford electoral area, where the Blaney support is based, was merged with the Letterkenny area prior to this year’s local elections.
Mr Blaney took over the Independent Fianna Fáil seat held by his father, Harry, and before that by his uncle, Neil T. Blaney. Mr Blaney became a Fianna Fáil TD when Independent Fianna Fáil and Fianna Fáil amalgamated in July 2006, bringing an end to a 35-year rift.
Dr McDaid, who called for an early general election in September, wrote to the party chief whip Pat Carey today to say he may oppose the Government in future Dáil votes.
"As a result of a farcical inaugural meeting of the Letterkenny-Milford CC last night, I feel compelled to inform you that I have withdrawn my support from Fianna Fáil," he wrote in the letter.
"My views on a general election are well known. I believe it would be in the interest of Fianna Fáil and by extension in the interest of the country. Accordingly, in a voting situation on the negative side one can abstain, be absent or against. I have exercised two of those options in the past and now feel free to exercise the third, if and when I deem it necessary.
"It was made clear to me last night that I am superfluous to the requirements of Fianna Fáil but I will not stand over the party being decimated either locally or nationally."
Taoiseach Brian Cowen, speaking in Co Monaghan today, said he had not seen the letter from Dr McDaid. "I haven't seen any letter so I can't comment until I speak to the General Secretary," he said.
A Fianna Fáil spokesman said: "It's an internal party matter which is being dealt with".
This afternoon, Mr Blaney, insisted he had tried to ease tensions with Dr McDaid. "I never set out to get rid of Jim McDaid or any personnel out of Fianna Fáil," he said. "It certainly wasn't my aim."
Mr Blaney said he left a telephone message this morning with Dr McDaid but had yet to hear back from him.
"There's only one loser over all this debacle in Donegal and that's Fianna Fáil," he told RTÉ. "I have no doubt that the Opposition are laughing at us."
Dr McDaid lost the Fianna Fáil whip last year over the withdrawal of cervical cancer screening.
Last September, he told The Irish Timesan election should be held in February or March of 2010 on the basis that the party's losses then would be more manageable than a "total decimation" if an election were held at a later stage.
Dr McDaid said the Government was making the very difficult decisions which needed to be done but that the public did not agree with the policies and had no confidence in the Government. He said his concern was that, if Fianna Fáil continued in power, its low ratings in opinion polls could drop even further and that the party would be decimated.
Dr McDaid's move further reduces the Government's potential voting power in the Dáil and leaves it in a precarious position ahead of next week's Budget which promises to be the toughest in decades.
In August, Sligo Fianna Fáil TDs Jimmy Devins and Eamon Scanlon resigned from the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party over the closure of the cancer unit at Sligo General Hospital leaving the Government without a majority for the first time since it took office.
If all TDs who are not under the whip voted against the Government, the balance in the Dáil would be 82 to 82. In such an instance, the Ceann Comhairle would have a casting vote.