SENATOR Jimmy Harte is said to be ‘flabberghasted’ by a media storm surrounding his chosen replacements on Donegal County Council and Letterkenny Town Council.
Under legislation the new member of the Seanad must give up council seats.
Senator Harte did just that.
Also under legislation, he must nominate people for co-optiong who had the same political affiliation as him; in this case independents.
Senator Harte did just that.
Last night a source close the Harte camp said: “It beggars belief that there are some people now in the Labour Party who say they wanted one or other of the two seats.
“If they knew anything at all about how the co-option system works, they would have seen that the people replacing Jimmy also had to be independents.”
Both Michael McBride, who took the county council seat, and Paschal Blake, who took the town council seat, were co-opted as independents.
It’s thought they may join the Labour Party at a later date.
The Harte camp source refused to comment on rumours that the Senator had consulted lawyers last night about reports on the row.
Tags: