FINE GAEL withdrew from last night's Late Late Showdiscussion on the Seanad because RTÉ had refused to allow the party to replace Senator Fidelma Healy-Eames on the panel with Dublin Central byelection candidate Senator Paschal Donohoe.
“Given this astonishing approach to dealing with this issue and the rejection of the main Opposition party’s designated spokesman, Fine Gael regrets that it will not be participating in tonight’s show. Even at this late stage, if the Late Late Show will accept the Fine Gael party’s agreed spokesman, the party would review the position,” a Fine Gael statement said last night.
Ms Healy-Eames, from Oranmore, Co Galway, who ran for Fine Gael in the last Dáil election, was one of three members of the main panel, along with Fianna Fáil’s Donie Cassidy and Trinity Independent David Norris, for the debate on the future of the Seanad. Following initial contributions from the panel, the discussion was to be taken to the floor of the studio with members of the audience, including other Senators, taking part. However, Fine Gael decided to replace Ms Healy-Eames with Mr Donohoe, a contender to fill the Dáil seat left vacant in the Dublin Central constituency caused by the death of Independent TD Tony Gregory.
However, RTÉ declared this unacceptable. A spokesman told The Irish Times that the Late Late Show team wished, in the interests of gender balance, to retain Ms Healy-Eames, since she was the only woman on the panel.
Fine Gael then withdrew all its Senators. RTÉ replaced Ms Healy-Eames with Senator Alex White, a candidate for Labour in the Dublin South byelection caused by the death of Fianna Fáil’s Séamus Brennan. Asked why another woman was not chosen, in the interests of gender balance, the spokesman cited production reasons, saying it was “too late” to get another woman and none was available in any case.
The main Opposition party said: “Fine Gael had originally been invited on Wednesday to put forward its Seanad Leader [Frances Fitzgerald] to participate in the panel discussion but she was unavailable. Fine Gael then nominated Senator Donohoe as the party’s representative.”
