Westmeath senators lose Fianna Fáil party whip

Westmeath’s Aidan Davitt and Paul Daly are among the three Fianna Fáil senators who have lost the party whip in the midst of the ongoing “Golfgate” controversy.

The two senators (pictured above), along with their Seanad colleague Niall Blaney, have had the whip removed by An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin after they attended a controversial Oireachtas Golf Society event in Clifden, Co. Galway earlier this week.

An Garda Síochána has launched an investigation into the event to determine if it was held in breach of public health guidelines.

Loss of the whip means that Senators Davitt and Daly are now effectively sitting as independents in the Seanad, having been excluded from the business of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party. Their Seanad speaking rights are likely to be impacted, until such time that the party whip is restored.

Senator Davitt was Fianna Fáil’s Seanad spokesperson on public expenditure and reform, while Senator Daly was the party’s Seanad whip and spokesperson on agriculture.

The Fine Gael party whip was also removed from three senators who attended the event – Jerry Buttimer, John Cummins and Paddy Burke.

Earlier this morning, the Minister for Agriculture, Dara Calleary TD, resigned from his position after admitting he had “made a big mistake” in attending the Clifden gathering.