Deputy O'Connor says intense pressure and poor judgement led to Jim Gavin's nomination and subsequent withdrawal and he is now calling for accountability.
In a post on X he says the party leadership made a “serious miscalculation” by not listening to members.
Controversy over a rental dispute 16 years ago prompted Jim Gavin's withdrawal.
However, former Fianna Fáil minister Éamon Ó Cuív says there were already difficulties:
"Jim Gavin's candidacy wasn't going well, and it goes back to a fatal flaw. This thing was rushed in the end. They had all summer to proceed with it, have an open competition, let anybody equally put forward a name and allow the parliamentary party without influence, pick the best candidate."
