This article is from page 3 of the 2006-03-28 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 3 JPG
FINE GAEL Deputy Pat Breen has defended his voting record in the Dáil, following revelations that he was present for less than half of the 137 votes taken in 2005.
Deputy Breen was present for 47 per cent of the votes, with Independent Deputy James Breen there for just over half, or 58 per cent of the votes.
Pat Breen told The Clare People that the figures were misleading as he was in the Dáil every week.
He also cited his role as Fine Gael’s sole member on the Council of Europe and that most of the council’s meetings took place on Wednesdays.
Some 48 per cent of last year’s votes were taken on Wednesdays.
“The record will show that I attended seven meetings in Europe last year,” he said.
He said that as a member of the party’s executive, he had to attend meetings in Head Office mid week.
Deputy Breen also suffered bereavement in his family last year, which might have had a slight affect on the voting figures.
“I like to spend as much time as possible in my constituency,” he added.
“The 47 per cent vote does not reflect the 100 per cent commitment I give to the job,” he said.
He also pointed to the location of his office, beside the party whip’s, “which makes it easy for me to facilitate pairs with the government,” he said.
James Breen welcomed the publication of the figures, claiming a whispering campaign in the county was misrepresenting the amount of time he was spending in the Dáil.
“I want to make it categorically clear that I missed no session in the Dáil in 2005, except in March and October when I was away on parliamentary business.”
He said that he also paired with TDs who had a genuine reason, and who might not have been able to get a pairing from their whip.
The Independent deputy was critical of the lack of any mechanism to record an abstention from a vote, a right that TDs use from time to time. Clare’s two junior ministers Síle de Valera and Tony Killeen were present for 70 per cent of the votes, taking part in 96 votes in total.