Fall-out from abortion vote threatens seismic shift in political landscape

The divisive vote on the proposed new abortion legislation has resulted in a seismic shift in the political landscape in Galway after five of the county’s nine Teachtaí Dála voted against the Government’s controversial bill. 

Ironically the death of Savita Halappanavar at the maternity unit of University Hospital Galway late last year arguably precipitated the vote through the Dáil, yet a majority of Galway’s TDs voted against the bill. Just 24 TDs across the country voted against, meaning 20 per cent of the dissenters were in Galway.

Not unexpectedly, three Galway West representatives, Fine Gael’s Brian Walsh, Fianna Fáil’s Éamon Ó Cuív and former Progressive Democrat and now Independent Noel Grealish all pressed the ‘Níl’ button with Labour’s Derek Nolan and Fine Gael’s Seán Kyne voting in favour.

In Galway East, Colm Keaveney, who resigned from the Labour Party last week, voted against, as did Fianna Fáil’s Micheál Kitt. Fine Gael’s Ciaran Cannon, the junior minister, and Paul Connaughton junior, both followed the party line and voted in favour.

While there was no real fall-out for the Fianna Fáil deputies, who had a free vote, although their leader Micheál Martin supported the legislation, city-based Walsh was immediately expelled from the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party.

Deputy Walsh, along with three other members of the party, Peter Mathews, Terrence Flanagan, and Billy Timmins received letters from Paul Kehoe, the Government chief whip, stating that they were “in breach of Fine Gael code of conduct and their pledge to vote with the party”.

He has been told to vacate his FG office in Leinster House and is now an independent.

Speaking to the Connacht Tribune following the vote, Deputy Walsh said he had kept his word to the electorate and voted with his conscience rather than to save his career.

He said he was being “sacrificed for the sake of the Labour Party”.

“This Bill is a Labour agenda, not Fine Gael. I haven’t gone against the values of Fine Gael; it is the people who voted for this who have gone against what they said they would do. We canvassed on the doorsteps in the election and said we would not vote for abortion legislation and I have kept my word; others in Fine Gael have not.”

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.