McGrath joined the Government supporting Regional Independent Group (RIG) before we met

On Thursday, Deputy Mattie McGrath, Independent TD for Tipperary South, released a copy of a letter he sent to Michael Collins TD in which he made a formal application to become a member of the Independent Technical Group (ITC). Deputy McGrath claimed that he did not receive a response to his application, but Independent Ireland TDs have roundly rejected that claim and have said Deputy McGrath is "misrepresenting the truth”. 

Michael Collins TD has unequivocally denied Deputy McGrath’s claims: “On January 8th, the administrator of our technical group replied to Deputy McGrath telling him that the Independent Technical Group would meet on January 21st and consider his application. 

“However, before we met on January 21st Deputy McGrath had joined the Regional Independent Group, which is supporting the Government and he publicly aligned with them, making the consideration of his application unnecessary. 

Independent Ireland General Secretary, Richard O’Donoghue TD said: 

“Seeing as Deputy McGrath has decided to make a political football out of this issue we’ll tell the full story, not the selectively edited version he has presented to the public. 

“Deputy McGrath sent his letter of application to the administrator of the Independent Technical Group on the 19th of December and he covered himself by sending it to Deputy Collins’ Oireachtas email account, knowing full well his staff were off for the Christmas. In any event, the technical group administrator responded to Deputy McGrath after returning from their Christmas Holidays on January 8th. Deputy McGrath did not make a phone call to any member of the Independent Technical Group regarding his application.

”When the technical group administrator returned to work following the Christmas Holidays, they emailed Deputy McGrath advising him that his application would be considered at a meeting of the Independent Technical Group on January 21st. But before his application could be considered Deputy McGrath joined, and publicly aligned with, the Regional Independent Group which is supporting the Government. Deputy McGrath has voted for Michéal Martin as Taoiseach, and to ratify his ministerial appointments.

“So, at that stage, there was no sense or reason to respond to him. What we have here is quite obvious, Deputy McGrath is trying to pull a political stunt. And for some reason, he thinks the people of Ireland are going to buy it hook-line-and-sinker. But the people can see through the thinly veiled political charade that Deputy McGrath is putting on. 

“If Deputy McGrath feels so overwhelmingly aggrieved that he needs to go running to the papers, I have bad news for him; politics is a tough game and if you're that easily offended, well all I can say is ‘suck it up buttercup’.”

Chairman of Independent Ireland, Ken O’Flynn said: 

“The fact that Deputy McGrath said something so easily disprovable and released his outgoing correspondence to the media without acknowledging the email that was sent back to him says it all, really. Independent Ireland, and indeed I think I can speak for the wider Independent Technical Group which we are a part of, when I say we expect a higher standard of conduct than what Deputy McGrath has displayed today, from our members.