Decisions must have consequences, says Kelleher

Fianna Fáil MEP Billy Kelleher said decisions that were made must have consequences following Jim Gavin's withdrawal from the Presidential Election.

Mr Kelleher said the announcement last night was a "shell shock" to the Presidential Election campaign and Fianna Fáil.

This was a "very serious miscalculation" and it "cannot just be swept under the carpet", Mr Kelleher said.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said Fianna Fáil members and voters across the country "are upset".

"A lot of people are very upset over this across the country," Mr Kelleher said.

Mr Kelleher, who contested Jim Gavin for the nomination, said he does not take things personally in politics.

"We clearly didn't do our due diligence, didn't do enough of an interrogation ... and that was the issue that I raised at the outset, I was clearly concerned that there seemed to be no proper process in place, there was no scrutiny of candidates, names were being mentioned on an ad-hoc basis and I just thought, all in all, it was quite a chaotic scene in early August," he said.

"You would also have to ask if enough was explained to Mr Gavin about the scrutiny he would come under," he added.

Mr Kelleher asked why the process for nomination was not opened out to other candidates.

"There obviously will have to be an assessment based on what was done to get Jim Gavin through the parliamentary party without having the due diligence done and the preparation for a candidate going into this type of election," he added.