SENATOR FIDELMA Healy Eames continues to ruffle feathers in Fine Gael. At Tuesday’s group meeting of Senators, she was given a strong dressing down for her continuous undermining of the Government’s education policy.

Healy Eames’s colleagues were unanimous in their disapproval and made it known to her in no uncertain terms.

This came before an article in Thursday’s Galway Advertiser headlined: “Is FF wooing Healy Eames as Ó Cuív praises her stand on schools?” In it, a mischievous Éamon Ó Cuív piles on the praise for Fidelma and her stance against the closing of rural schools, which she has called “social engineering of the worst kind”. Young Dev, who is Fianna Fáil to his fingertips, says Fidelma is speaking “for many Fine Gael grassroots supporters”. He called on Galway’s Fine Gael TDs to give her their full support.

Yesterday morning, Fine Gael TDs received an email from an incensed “lifelong supporter” in Galway who has supported the party “through good times and bad since I first cast a vote almost 50 years ago”. The writer (name supplied) told them of her absolute disgust upon reading the article and said Senator Healy Eames’s “destructive diatribe against Government decisions has provided ammunition for the Opposition with which to attack our party and its directly elected representatives”.

The letter continues “she has no mandate to attack Government policy and has no right to assist the Opposition with their sniping, thereby compromising the work of our directly elected local TDs”.

The angry grassroot says local deputies have enough on their plates without their party colleague making their task harder for them.

“She seems intent on fostering disunity within the Coalition. Such actions should be censured and I ask those of you who care as much as I do about the integrity and well-being of Fine Gael to tow in the Senator before she inflicts more damage on the party that I have ardently supported all my life.”