COMPO claim TD Maria Bailey’s future is at risk after Fine Gael members in her constituency called for an urgent review of general election candidates.
Members of Bailey’s constituency carried a motion by secret ballot at a meeting in the Royal Marine Hotel, in Dun Laoghaire, this evening.
The Fine Gael TD for Dun Laoghaire has come under scrutiny since her compensation case for falling off a swing at the Dean Hotel in 2015 came to light this year.
She was demoted from the party following an internal party review which found she “overstated” the extent of the injuries she suffered.
Court documents lodged as part of her case stated she could not run for three months after her fall, but she ran in a 10km race three weeks after the incident.
Bailey had hoped that the motion would fail and that her place on the ticket in the next general election would be safe.
However, this evening’s vote now means that her spot in the Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown constituency is now under threat.
Fine Gael’s National Executive Council will now consider if changes should be made to the candidate list to try to maximise the party’s chances.
Earlier, the Taoiseach said the candidacy of Ms Bailey as a Fine Gael election candidate in Dun Laoghaire was a matter for the local party organisation to decide on.
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Leo Varadkar said: “I have full confidence in any candidate who is selected and ratified to run for our party.
“But we are a democratic party and it’s the members in the constituency who make that decision.
“I don’t want to say anything on that meeting tonight for that reason.”