Fianna Fáil’s treatment of presidential candidate Jim Gavin amounts to “the most unceremonious dumping on a party candidate in modern Irish political history,” according to Fianna Fáil TD, James O’Connor.
In a statement posted on social media, the Cork East TD said that Mr Gavin should never have been on the ballot paper, but found himself there “due to the extensive pressure put on Fianna Fáíl TDs and Senators by Micheál Martin and Jack Chambers”.
“They repeatedly phoned each member of the parliamentary party in the days before the selection convention on the 9th of September,” Mr O’Connor said.
Deputy O’Connor’s statement comes after Mr Gavin’s withdrawal from the presidential race, following the Irish Independent’s report that he owed a former tenant €3,300.
In a statement, Mr Gavin said he “made a mistake that was not in keeping with my character and the standards I set myself” and that he was “now taking steps to address the matter”.
Despite his withdrawal from the race, Mr Gavin will remain on the ballot paper Friday, October 24, alongside Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys and Left candidate Catherine Connolly.
In his statement, Deputy O’Connor said that Fianna Fáil must now address its “mistakes and political misjudgements of the past six weeks”.
“I, along with many colleagues, believed nominating Jim Gavin was a serious risk. Our reason: his glaring lack of any campaigning or political experience. We know, from the past few Irish presidential campaigns, that incidents and errors of the past emerge and hurt even the best of candidates. The experienced leadership of Fianna Fáil should have taken the concerns of a huge mass of the Fianna Fáil party seriously. It made a serious miscalculation in not doing so.
“I regret the treatment bestowed on Mr Gavin and his family in the past two days. Elevating him one day and then throwing him under a bus the next, has to be the most unceremonious dumping on a party candidate in political history,” Deputy O’Connor said.
“It is clear from what we have learned over the past 48 hours that Gavin was very poorly advised on how to handle this matter.
“We owe it to him, his former tenant, to the members of Fianna Fáil, and most of all to the public, to fully explain how that happened and then ensure it is never repeated,” he concluded.