I joined Fianna Fail at the age of 16, some 39 years ago and it is with sadness and reluctance that I have today decided to tender my resignation from my Party.
I tender my resignation as I do not wish my position within the Party to be used to distract the workings of Government.
I have stated repeatedly that any decisions I ever made as a public representative, either as a member of a local authority or as a member of Dail Eireann, were made in the PUBLIC INTEREST and NEVER for financial gain.
The report circulated by the internal Fianna Fail Committee earlier today highlights the lengths to which I went in order to co-operate with the Party Committee. Information which I readily volunteered to the Committee goes way beyond my role as a member of Dublin County Council. Any objective analysis of the Committee's report and exchange of correspondence would indicate that my meetings with the Committee went far beyond the remit of the Committee and I was subjected to a range of questions that no other member was asked to address. Notwithstanding this, I feel that it is in the best interest of Fianna Fail, a Party which I served for almost 40 years, that I now tender my resignation.
This has been a very difficult decision for myself and my family.