A staggering 79 per cent of those surveyed this week say Donegal North-East TD, Dr Jim McDaid, should not return to the Fianna Fail parliamentary party.
One thousand visitors to the Irish news website www.breakingnews.ie took the time to answer th
e question: ‘Whether Jim McDaid would be right to return to the Fianna Fail fold?’ Just 21 per cent (211 voters) thought he would, while a resounding 79 per cent (789 voters) said he wouldn’t.
Dr McDaid resigned the party whip fourteen months ago, adamant that he could not fully back the party until the cervical cancer vaccine was rolled out.
On January 15, Health Minister Mary Harney announced that up to 30,000 girls in first year at secondary school will be given the vaccine before the summer.
The very next day, the Irish Independent ran an interview in which Dr McDaid indicated that he would be applying to rejoin the Parliamentary Party.
"I'm absolutely delighted that she is rolling it out," he told the newspaper. "It's better late than never and it's given me a chance of getting back into the fold again."
If he were to rejoin, it would be seen as a major boost for the party, which is currently tied with the opposition at 82 votes each.
The Breaking News website poll took place the same day this interview appeared.
On Friday, Dr McDaid said he hadn’t heard anything about the poll, but still hadn’t made his mind up about whether he would seek to regain the party whip.
“The poll results are amazing. I just don’t know what to make of them. It’s pretty emphatic, I suppose. Interestingly, the results are pretty consistent with this week’s MRBI poll, which says 19 per cent of voters are satisfied with the government,” he commented.
“I haven’t made up my mind yet about the parliamentary party. There are a few things that I would need to get straightened out before I’d rejoin.
I’ve been out a good while now and I’m starting to get used to it,” he added.
