Fine Gael confirms Patsy O'Brien expelled due to 'pornographic material' sent to female staff member
Patsy O'Brien is currently contesting the general election in Mayo as an independent candidate and was elected to the council as an independent in June.
Fine Gael expelled former Mayo councillor Patsy O'Brien for “repeatedly” sending “unsolicited pornographic material” to a female Oireachtas member, the party has confirmed.
Fine Gael has been repeatedly questioned in recent weeks about Mr O’Brien’s expulsion from the party in October 2020.
He is currently contesting the general election in Mayo as an independent candidate and was elected to the council as an independent in June.
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In a statement on Tuesday, a Fine Gael spokesman confirmed that Mr O’Brien was expelled from the party after sending inappropriate messages to a female Oireachtas member.
“Following consultation with a former female Oireachtas staff member who made a complaint against Councillor Patsy O’Brien Fine Gael can, in agreement with this individual, confirm, that Fine Gael received a complaint concerning Councillor O’Brien repeatedly sending her unsolicited pornographic material, which was degrading and graphic in nature,” he said.
“This caused serious upset, alarm and distress to her.
“A Fine Gael hearing committee in 2020 found that Councillor O’Brien sent pornographic and sexually explicit material, including videos to the staff member, while he was carrying out his work as a county councillor and when making representations on behalf of citizens and constituents.
"Accordingly, the Committee determined that by his actions, Councillor O’Brien acted in a manner which was contrary to the code of conduct of the Fine Gael party and expelled him from membership of the party.
“The former staff member has asked Fine Gael to relay that their privacy be fully and absolutely respected and no further contact be made with her by media outlets.”
During a press conference on Monday, Taoiseach Simon Harris branded Mr O’Brien’s action “deplorable” and said he was “rightly booted out of the Fine Gael”.
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