Jude Perry, son of the former Fine Gael Junior Minister John Perry, is calling for a public apology from the Taoiseach and the Fine Gael party over his expulsion from the party.
Although that expulsion has since been rescinded, Jude Perry says there remains ‘substantial questions’ to be answered about what happened.
Fine Gael said Jude Perry was expelled from the party because he promoted the campaign of his father, former Fine Gael junior minister and TD John Perry, who is now running as an Independent candidate in the Sligo/Leitrim, North Roscommon, South Donegal constituency.
But in a message on his Twitter account yesterday evening, Jude Perry said he received a message on WhatsApp from the Taoiseach on Sunday evening reinstating his Fine Gael membership and that of his mother.
He said it came as a considerable surprise to him and his family that his mother had also been expelled from Fine Gael after decades of involvement with the party.
Among the questions Jude Perry now wants answered is who made the decision to expel them . . and why.
He also wants to know why cabinet members tried to justify his expulsion in the national media, and if they knew his mother had been expelled without prior notice.
He also claims a briefing to councillors has tarnished his reputation.
And he wants a person, agreed to by him, and independent of Fine Gael, to be appointed to conduct an inquiry into the incident after the general election.
Meanwhile, Fine Gael general election candidate Thomas Walsh has described the decision to suspend Jude Perry’s membership as ‘ill judged.’
He said he was ‘quite shocked’ when he heard the decision, adding that he welcomed the news from headquarters that the suspension had been rescinded.
