Tanaiste Simon Coveney continues to back compensation claim TD Maria Bailey - even as a motion of no-confidence was tabled in her constituency.
The Tanaiste has stuck by the controversial Swing-gate politician since the scandal broke about her personal injury claim against Dublin’s Dean Hotel.
“Maria Bailey is somebody who has paid a very, very heavy price for making a mistake and she continues to pay that price,” the Tanaiste told Sean O’ Rourke.
When the scandal first broke about the claim Ms Bailey made after she fell off a swing while holding drinks in both hands, the Tanaiste urged the Taoiseach not to withdraw the party whip from the TD.
And he continues to defend her despite the push among local politicians to remove her from the party ticket and Fine Gael’s own findings that her affidavit “overstated the impact of her injuries”.
Simon Coveney told how the TD - who backed his leadership bid in 2017 - “desperately would like to rewind the clock on some of the choices that she made”.
Sean O’Rourke grilled the Tánaiste about the no confidence vote in Ms Bailey, tabled in Fine Gael’s Blackrock district - a unit in Ms Bailey’s Dun Laoghaire constituency - which was deferred.
Mr Coveney called for ‘fairness’. He said the Taoiseach had disciplined Ms Bailey, referring to her removal as chairperson of the Oireachtas Housing Committee in the wake of the report.
“I would encourage people to have some sense of fair play here in terms of proportionality as regards the consequences of Maria’s decisions for her,’ said Mr Coveney.
‘They’ve taken an extraordinary toll on her personally and her family and her place in politics and I think when disciplinary action is taken and consequences faced up to there is surely at some point an opportunity to allow a person to move on.
"Politics is a tough business. The electorate will ultimately have their say.”
“When people makes mistakes – particularly in politics, of course there’s a consequence for that.
He said Ms Bailey should be allowed to ‘move on’.
“She’s looking to rebuild her political career and is working extraordinarily hard to do that.”
Ms Bailey is on the Fine Gael ticket in the forthcoming general election.
The no-confidence motion was brought by Cllr Marie Baker, who used to work as Ms Bailey’s assistant.
Politicians are said to be divided over letting the electorate decide on Ms Bailey’s fate and taking her off the ticket to stop any more damage as a result of the scandal.
