Alan Shatter: 'Taoiseach's dangerous reaction to Bailey case more befitting of a cult than a political party'

Controversy: The Maria Bailey swing case was perceived to have damaged Fine Gael in the recent European and local elections. Photo: Gerry Mooney

Alan Shatter

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told Brendan O'Connor when being interviewed on RTÉ Radio One last Saturday that Fine Gael is going to require all election candidates to "make us aware of previous convictions or court cases they may be getting involved in".

As a result of perceived damage caused to Fine Gael in the recent European and local elections by the Maria Bailey controversy, Mr Varadkar stated: "We can't just treat these things as private matters any more because they do have an impact on the rest of the party."