Beverley Cooper-Flynn, Meeting not "appropriate"
Fine Gael has said that the Taoiseach should immediately suspend Beverley Cooper-Flynn from the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party, pending the outcome of any possible appeal in her failed libel case against RTÉ. Ms Cooper-Flynn said that she is not prepared to meet party officials, as had been planned later today, to discuss her future within the party. She said that she is still considering an appeal against the High Court decision. Today the Fine Gael spokesman on Agriculture, Marine and Natural Resources, Alan Dukes, said that it was commonplace for employers to suspend on full pay, employees who are under suspicion or investigation, pending the outcome of their cases.
In this morning's statement, Ms Cooper-Flynn said that the Taoiseach has stated in the Dáil that anyone who does not obtain the result they desired in a High Court case is entitled to consider the legal implications under due process. She added that, in her case, the Taoiseach said that she was entitled to take time to consider her position.
Ms Cooper-Flynn said that consultations with her legal representatives were still ongoing and a final decision had not been reached. She had therefore written to the Party Chairman and Chief Whip indicating a meeting would be inappropriate until a final decision concerning an appeal has been taken. She was asking all members of the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party to support her entitlement to due process at this time.
In the Dáil this afternoon, the Opposition parties forced a vote on the Order of Business in the absence of a statement from the Taoiseach on the position of the Mayo Deputy. Fine Gael's Alan Dukes asked whether Mr Ahern had any announcement to make on the subject, while the Labour Party leader, Ruairí Quinn, said that the circumstances of Ms Cooper-Flynn's forced resignation from the Public Accounts Committee had not been fully explained to the House. Both he and the Green Party's Trevor Sergeant maintained that this was a matter of legitimate public concern, and should be the subject of debate.
