Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny today expressed regret at George Lee's decision to leave the party and resign as a TD, saying he had envisaged a "very important" role for Mr Lee.
“I’m greatly saddened by George Lee's decision to resign from Fine Gael and politics just eight months into his new Dáil career," Mr Kenny said.
Noting he had appointed Mr Lee to chair the party's Economic and Business Affairs Committee to develop Fine Gael economic policy for the next election, the party leader said Mr Lee played a very important role in chairing business and economic forums around the country before Christmas.
"These played an integral part in planning our pre-Budget submission. George, along with our other economic spokesmen, planned and presented that Fine Gael position to the media at Budget time.”
Mr Kenny said he had anticipated a very important role for Mr Lee over the coming period “after a time of settling into a new career in politics”.
“As part of our economic team George was due to attend the OECD later this week together with a senior Fine Gael delegation. Regrettably that, and other developments, will not now happen after George's decision today.
“While I regret his decision I would like, on a personal level, to wish George and his family well in the future,” Mr Kenny said.
Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan said Fine Gael "really did oversell George Lee from the very start".
Speaking on The Last Word programme on Today FM, he said: "They sold him as an economic messiah and obviously he accepted their word on that and felt that his messianic economic qualities were not being recognised."
"They billed George as some person who could solve all our problems immediately and George Lee has discovered for himself that that can't be done."