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THE DECISION TO remove Verona Murphy from the Fine Gael ticket for the upcoming general election is “looking better by the moment”, Minister for Health Simon Harris has said.
The party confirmed yesterday that the former Wexford by-election candidate has been dropped from the upcoming general election ticket.
“The decision to deselect her is looking better by the moment,” Harris said today speaking to reporters.
“I think anybody who engages in stoking what I believe are to be unfounded racist fears has no place in the Fine Gael party.
“I thought the comments this morning… gave a great insight perhaps into why it’s best that she’s been deselected.”
In response to Harris’ comments, Murphy said he was as one of the worst Ministers for Health.
“Well, I think what you have there is probably one of the worst Ministers for Health. He’ll probably go down in history deflecting from his own ineptitude. I don’t know if it warrants its comment,” Murphy said during an interview with Newstalk.
Newstalk / Twitter
Newstalk / Twitter / Twitter
Earlier today in an interview with Alan Corcoran on South-East Radio, Murphy said her apology stands but her words have been “misrepresented in the media”.
“Do we have to wait to have a London Bridge incident on Wexford Bridge?,” she said today.
“Am I, as a person, not allowed to raise the security issue that these unrestricted migrants bring?”
The decision to deselect Murphy from the Fine Gael ticket was reached after the controversial by-election campaign last month.
During the campaign, Murphy was criticised for a series of comments about migrants.
She apologised after linking asylum seekers to Isis and calling for them to be “deprogrammed”.
She also made further comments linking migrants to the terrorist group and said that Isis had “manipulated children as young as three or four”.
Asked about these statements earlier today, Murphy said she stands by her apology but claims to be privy to information other TDs would not.
“I’m at the coalface. As president [of the Irish Road Haulage Association], I have attended security briefings on unrestricted migration,” she said today.
“Briefings given by Interpol, the MI5, the UK Border Force. I doubt anybody in Dáil Éireann has as much experience of the migrant issue as I have.”
With reporting by Christina Finn and Adam Daly
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Removing Harris from his position would be even better! In fact, it would be bloody marvelous!
@David Corrigan: She’s saying what a great number of people across the country are thinking.
@Mick Andrews: guess they’re as bigoted and uninformed as she is then.
@gm_cmanning: Keep guessing.
@Mick Andrews: guess you are too?
@Mick Andrews: If they are thinking that then they need to educate themselves.
@Mick Andrews: sadly true – doesn’t say much for them as people but there you go.
@Mick Andrews: whats that then..that someone from wexford could stab someone else on a bridge in wexford. You do know that the fella who killed those people in london was from stoke on trent in England. So you and that muppet Verona a are linking migrants to an incident that wasnt relatws to migration. Seems pretty racist to me
She has genuine concerns
@Vic Vinegar: She’s saying what a lot of people are thinking right across the country. Harris in the meantime is sitting down to have a slash
@Vic Vinegar: she’s a scare-mongering numpty
@gm_cmanning: and ur just a numpty
@Dan2078: better than being a scaremongering one
@gm_cmanning: No PC Guff here its just FACTS
@Joe: ok, she has none.
@Mick Andrews: again the person responsible for those stabbings was from England. So she is linking migration to an incident that had nothing to do with migration.
How many people are stabbed are shot in this country daily that has nothing to do with migration. Pretty much all of it. But you’ll probably link that to people trying to secure a better lifes for them and their families
@gm_cmanning: So have the debate with her. Silence breeds contempt.
@Birdy: So he was English with Radical views about Westerners. People of all religions and cultures deserve a decent life. There’s civil laws to observe. Religious law and bigotory has to be policed. I suppose it depends on what some people want to secure. So broadening your outlook on some people’s reasons to immigrate might add to your feeble statement that those deaths were perpetrated by a normal Brit.
@Mick Andrews: thats not a feeble statement, its a fact that neither you or Verona mentioned but linked migration to the attack. How many people have moved to our country in the last 10 years and how many terrorist i cidents have thwre been? Do you know the number of migrates the uk has taken it, including the number of u knowns and how many terriosts attacks in that time? The ratio is extremly small.If you go back far enough you are the descendant of an immigrant.
@Caroline Otoole: where’s the silence? Who’s silencing her? She’s all over the gaff yapping away today
@Birdy: Exactly. 10 irish stabbings and nobody bats an eye. 1 immigrant stabbing and everyone loses their minds.
@gm_cmanning: As many as You so!
Her opinions were well known from the start and no one seemed to mind. Leo came down personally to canvass with her and show his support for what she represents. Too late now to express concerns
What a complete joke of a government. Silencing someone with genuine concerns as do a lot of people in this country regarding who is coming in . And then they give bail to a known ISIS member. When is the madness going to end .
@stephen darling: How is she being silenced exactly? – https://twitter.com/IvanYatesNT/status/1207674725188689921/
@stephen darling: who’s being silenced and what genuine concerns has she aired?
@stephen darling: Who is being silenced? Wasn’t she just on the radio? Aren’t you commenting on an article detailing her concerns? Who is is that’s silencing her?
Can’t she stand as an Independent? Voice her concerns and ask people to vote for her?
What am I missing here? When was she silenced?
Leo Harris Murphy Murphy swing gate lets home the all go out the Gate at the next Election That’s what would be good
This is going to bite them big time if she runs in the general election as an independent
@Ian James Burgess: No doubting she will James and I’ll put my money on her to win the seat.
@Ian James Burgess: The people that voted for Wallace need somewhere to tick the box!
@Ian James Burgess:
She literally just ran. And lost. Because of her bile rhetoric.
She’ll suffer the same fate as Gemma.
@Dean: she ran as a fine gael member subject to having to tow the party line and it was also a vote against said party.
Perhaps Verona Murphy would be better employed working for the Garda intelligence services. She seems to know so much!
When Simon Harris is removed from the Fine Gael ticket I will consider voting for them again. Not until then.
@Joe Doheny: o, I don’t want him to be removed from the ticket, let him run, spend money and get smashed and lose his seat and then leave the voting hall in the same way as Mickey McDowell was greeted by Sinn Fein when he lost his seat
Here goes the Journal again with their lousy timing for posting stories – Lisa Smith story – comments closed – 3 of the last 5 stories are comments closed. What’s the point ? Would it be too much to stagger the comments closed stories so readers can engage with a reasonable number of the stories of the day – or else what is the point of having a journal newsroom at all ?
@Dave Hammond: Stories that are before the courts normally have the comments section closed. This is now new.
The Weasel Harris, hows that Hospital Project coming along?
Verona will run as independent and win a seat, FG will lose a seat. She’s better off away from those corrupt gangsters
Harris and Murphy in the same sentence…. Sums up the blueshirts.
Removing Harris will look best by the moment!!!
The utter arrogance and contempt from these boyo’s is beyond belief.
They are like circling vultures waiting to feast on the rotting meat.
Truly disgusting creatures (Not the Vultures)
It would look even better if you were not on it Mr Harris
It can only improve her standing by not being associated with that FG shower of bluffers & liars
@Thomas Sheridan: she guaranteed to be elected as an independent as PC D4 spoiled media brats are gone mad
Alan Farrell is still there
Mick Wallace, Verona Murphy-what other political jokes has Wexford got for us?
@muirhill121: the only political jokes in Wexford are the 5 in the Dail. Keep Mick in Europe and #1 Verona in the election
@muirhill121: Try Brendan Howlin he increased pension age in government and now wants it reduced
“Unfounded “? Lol. He’d do well to have a chat with his colleagues at the Department of Justice if he is so sure . No surprise the justice Minister had nothing to say either .
@Christy Dolan: Well Ireland has never had a terror attack so yeah, “unfounded” would be correct.
Harris should keep his Mouth closed, I’d say that his days are numbered as well, he will never be elected again.
I’m sorry Mr Harris. I’ve been a FG member since before you were born and a lot of FGers would agree with what she said. The whole of Europe is gone too “Politically Correct” and will regret it in the not too distant future. And by the way your not doing too good a job yourself.
@Tom O’Hanlon: Where were all these FG voters during the election then? Because she came in third.
As revolting as FG are with their incompetence, waste of public funds, Leo’s support of this woman, support for Two fraudsters in the party and general apathy towards the less well off – at least their voters seem to have steered clear of out and out racism.
Small mercies I suppose give the rest of the horrible behaviours they’re happy to support
have your say