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THE SEVEN FINE Gael rebels who were expelled from the parliamentary party over their vote against the abortion bill will not be allowed to stand for the party at the next election, the Government Chief Whip has insisted.
Paul Kehoe has said that there will be no going back on the decision to expel the five TDs and two Senators from the parliamentary party in July and said they will not be standing for Fine Gael at the next general election.
TDs Lucinda Creighton, Peter Mathews, Billy Timmins, Brian Walsh and Terence Flanagan as well as Senators Paul Bradford and Fidelma Healy-Eames all lost the Fine Gael whip when they opposed the government on the Protection of Life during Pregnancy Bill.
Kehoe told TheJournal.ie this week: “I think the Taoiseach has made it quite clear from the time the people voted against the government that there were consequences.
“The consequences were they were expelled from the parliamentary party and they wouldn’t be standing for Fine Gael in the next general election, and that’s a decision the party has made. There’ll be no going back on that decision.”
Kehoe said he feels sorry for the seven “outside of the pale” but said that these are the consequences of their decision to break a pledge they signed when they ran for Fine Gael in the general election.
“[It] states clearly in the party pledge that you vote accordingly with what way the party decides,” he said. “The party decided to bring this legislation forward [and] to support the legislation.”
“Look I feel sorry for the people outside of the pale, of course it’s a decision they don’t take lightly because there is huge consequences: not being able to go to parliamentary party meetings, not being involved in the day-to-day decision making of the party… they find themselves outside, being removed from committees, removed from their offices. That is not nice.”
Kehoe does not have any qualms about having removed the expelled TDs from their offices and placed them in new surroundings away from the main Fine Gael block in Leinster House saying “that’s the way it is and has been for years”.
“It’s something that I don’t like doing, it’s unfortunate [but] that’s part of government and that’s a part of politics,” he said.“Politics is no kind of Cinderella game, it’s tough, it’s not a bed of roses and anyonewho goes into politics, they know that.
Kehoe also dealt with claims from one Fine Gael rebel, Peter Mathews, that phones were disconnected in his office before he could move to new offices which he is unhappy with, claiming that grates on the windows are a fire hazard.
“Peter is in the very same office that he was in when he came into the Dáil first and he found no problem with his office [then],” Kehoe claimed.
He rejected suggestions that phones were disconnected saying that Mathews was moved to a new office and his phones were connected to that office.
“[The phones] were connected to his new office as were his computers and all he had to do was walk straight in. He had a suite of offices, he has his own office, his staff have their own offices.
“I can assure you there are many people working in office life who would love to have Peter Mathews’ office in the spacious capacity that he’s in at the moment.”
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Thanks google. Thanks for starting a world where people walk around recording each other. I will never wear these.
Should read.
“Silly Virgin Atlantic press release, amounts to vast amounts of free advertising”
Minority Report meets Skynet
Time for infrared necklaces for everyone so you can protect your identity.
Welcome to the world of tomorrow
I’m a tech geek at heart and this technology is really cool BUT people have to be realistic and open there eyes, this is potentially one of the worst things to ever hit the self’s, privacy as we know it will be gone and our kids will never no what it is! Once its gone it will never come back, Scott Barry style
Fyi tech geeks tend to have good grammar and spelling.
The thing I’m dreading most about this technology is women walking down the street behind me checking out my sweet little ass.
It gives them the capability to perv on me when I’m not even around!
Yeah because you can’t walk around recording people on you phone this last ten years.
Good one Adebayo.
Big difference in phone recording and these glasses. A few examples, your on a beach with your toddler and some stranger starts pointing a phone at your child filming them. If your a vigilant parent your going to notice this and one way or another put a stop to it and make other people aware of a potential pervert in your midst. Beach full of people lots wearing glasses any sicko can now do this unnoticed. Burgler scoping out your house standing with phone risk of being seen. Burgler walking slowly along with glasses on no problem. Taking cash out at an ATM using card in shop etc person with glasses good chance they can zoom in on your pin. Seriously dangerous piecof technology in the wrong hands and that’s aside from everyday invasions of privacy.
Soz, only seeing this now as you didn’t hit reply. Walking around with a phone outstretched pointing in someones face since 2004 isnt something I have seen too much of, in day to day life, like transactions at a till etc but hey maybe I haven’t been paying attention.
PIN numbers are so last year love! We have fingerprint scanners here in Brazil now no need for a PIN number so don’t be worrying!
*On all ATM machines
I foresee (sorry!) terrible eye problems down the line if these become the norm.
I remember these from ‘Beyond 2000′!
Welcome to the future. Bare in mind that the airlines have been the test bed for realtime transactions and date analysis since the 1960′s.
I like Virgin Atlantic. I flew here via London from SFO. Treated like a human being. Wonderful staff. Comfortable seats (and I’m 6’4″, 210lbs). The other airlines should pay attention to VA. They know how to treat people.
The glasses? Couldn’t care less. The terminal is plastered with cameras anyway.
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