RESIGNATION: Clare Daly TD said yesterday’s Socialist Party claim that she placed more value on her connection with Mick Wallace TD than on the work of the party was 'inaccurate'.

North Dublin TD Clare Daly has hit back at her former Socialist Party colleagues after she dramatically quit the party.

She said she noted "with some regret" the "inaccurate" statement from her former party yesterday, which criticised her friendship with tax-dodging developer TD Mick Wallace.

"I have no intention of engaging in a public war of words with the Socialist Party leadership," she said.

Her comments came as Socialist MEP Paul Murphy described her decision to quit as a "grave political error" and said he was baffled as to why Ms Daly chose her political connections with Mr Wallace over her association with the party.

"I think she made a very grave political error. For whatever reason, she has chosen her political connections with Wallace over the party," he said. "I don't know why she has made such an error of judgement but I have no intention on commenting on Clare's personal relationship with Wallace."

Within minutes of the announcement that she was resigning from the party yesterday, it slammed the North Dublin TD for "damaging her reputation" by intervening on Mr Wallace's behalf.

It also hit out at her for consistently sitting next to Mr Wallace in the Dail and not condemning his tax evasion, and described her actions as "reckless misjudgement".

In what must be an embarrassment for Ms Daly, the Socialist Party hit out at the Dublin politician for her close connections to the former builder in recent months: "Clare Daly offered political support to Mick Wallace, despite the opposition of the Socialist Party to her acting in this way.

"Clare publicly vouched for Mick Wallace and his fitness for office, intervened on his behalf and consciously and consistently sat beside him in the Dail, which amounted to public political endorsement.

"Her actions and words were seized on by sections of the media to link the left in general and the Socialist Party in particular to Mick Wallace."

It went on: "Clare Daly's promotion of Mick Wallace in the anti-household tax campaign late last year and early this year, despite his tax evasion, was a reckless misjudgement."

The statement also described how the party felt that Clare's resignation reflected the fact that her actions and approach had resulted in a complete breakdown in the political and working relations between her and the Socialist Party nationally, in the Dail and between her and the branches of the Socialist Party in the Dublin North constituency.

It read: "Clare has tended to politically orientate to the Independent members of the Technical Group in the Dail. This has gone beyond working on specific issues to build the strongest possible campaigns, which is an approach we agree with.

"In Clare's case, it was also co-operation and collaboration of a broader political character with Independents instead of trying to build the profile of the United Left Alliance (ULA) and a new left movement on a principled left and socialist basis."

It went on: "Clare has also not worked in a genuinely collective way with her colleagues in the Socialist Party. Instead, she has avoided democratic discussion as well as the democratic check and accountability of the party's elected structures and members.

"Democratic discussion and the accountability of public representatives is essential in any party that claims to represent working-class people."

But it added: "We have no difficulty in recognising Clare's many years of hard work, her outstanding record and the public esteem in which she is held. All of this was achieved as a Socialist Party activist. This makes the approach that she has adopted and her resignation from the party all the more disappointing for the many members who worked with her through the years and who also played an important role in achieving her election to the Dail."

Meanwhile, the politician was facing online criticism from her supporters.

One former supporter posted on her official social networking page: "Is this true? This is such a massive disappointment, Clare. I really admire your views on the abortion debate and feel that this will severely damage your credibility and efficacy.

"While I'm not so sure she will retain her seat next time round, her ties to the other chap have and will continue to damage her chances.

"Surely she's not going solely to show support to the Wexford tax cheat."

Another said: "I think she could regret this come the next election."

The Socialist Party is to hold a press conference at Buswell's Hotel later today in response to the resignation of Ms Daly from the party.

In previous elections, her official manifesto included the promise: "A vote for Clare Daly is a vote for justice for ordinary people, a vote for taxation justice and a vote against political corruption."

Sunday Independent