Pro-life TD Tóibín hits out at Sinn Féin
SUSPENDED Sinn Féin TD Peadar Tóibín has hit out at his party for releasing a press release about his suspension from the party having promised him that the decision to punish him would be done quietly.
Mr Tóibín was suspended from the party for six months last week and was told that, if an election is called during that time and he runs as an Independent, he would be expelled from the party.
He said that the party told him that his temporary departure – imposed after he broke the whip on an abortion vote – would all be kept quiet but then went to the media when his back was turned.
The pro-life Meath TD said that he then felt obliged to go to the media and tell his side of the story.
‘I was told that the party wouldn’t be releasing a press release on this item and during the week I found out that they did release a statement and had reps going on media, etc, and then I felt that I needed to respond and put my own perspective on the record on it,’ he said.
He said he had hoped the debate would remain an internal issue within the party.
Mr Tóibín said he wanted an end to his ‘Lanigan’s Ball’ relationship with the party – a reference to a song in which dancers are stepping in and stepping out again. The Meath East TD was previously suspended for voting against the 2013 Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill.
Last Thursday, Sinn Féin suspended Mr Tóibín for what it called a ‘serious breach’ of party rules after he voted No in the Dáil to Government proposals to introduce terminations up to three months of pregnancy and in limited circumstances thereafter.
The party’s whip Aengus Ó Snodaigh announced on Thursday that Mr Tóibín had been punished with a six-month suspension.
Mr Tóibín, a Sinn Féin party member of 21 years’ standing, told RTÉ One’s The Week In Politics that he was still trying to reach a compromise that would enable him to uphold his pro-life views while continuing to work for the party.
‘What I’m trying to do is work out a solution with regards the party and, to be honest, I’m hoping to draw a line under this type of discussion as well,’ he said, adding that he hopes the debate will be kept within the party from now on.
The TD was a leading campaigner for a No vote in the abortion referendum and has long held pro-life views. He was suspended for six months by Sinn Féin for voting against the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill in 2013.
Sinn Féin did not reply to a request for comment yesterday.