The mayor of Naas, Mr Timmy Conway, has left the Progressive Democrats to join Fine Gael, writes Arthur Beesley, Political Reporter
The departure after 17 years in the PDs marks Mr Conway's second major change of allegiance. He is a three-time Labour senator and spent 25 years in that party before leaving to join the PDs in 1986.
When asked whether was guilty of ideological inconsistency, Mr Conway said he was pragmatic. "I'm being as consistent as I can be. Life changes, as everything else changes." He had spent long periods in the PDs and in Labour and believed that it could not be said that he was flitting from one party to the next.
Mr Conway said he had not fallen out with the PDs, which he joined as a founder member. However, he was unhappy with the Government's management of the public finances and with the decision to restrict the Freedom of Information Act.
He also said he was moving party because he could not influence the PDs. "I just feel that I can't make a contribution in there because nobody's listening."
Stating that he was good friends with the Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, he said: "I just decided that I feel I can make a better contribution in Fine Gael."
Mr Kenny, said Mr Conway's entry into the party was "further evidence that Fine Gael is well on its way to recovery".
The party's national executive accepted Mr Conway's application for membership at a meeting last Saturday. He had informed the PDs of his decision on Friday.
The Fine Gael national executive is also assessing a membership application from the former Labour mayor of Cork, Mr Joe O'Callaghan.
Mr O'Callaghan was sharply criticised last year for his remarks about asylum-seekers, when he said that many people in Cork were "a lot worse off than the asylum-seekers who have been given accommodation here in three, four and five-star hotels".