http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=G7j20etLJk8

(SineadOCarrollTJ/Youtube)

AN INCIDENT IN which a Fine Gael TD grabbed a female colleague and forced her to sit on his lap has been called ‘silly’.

In the video of the incident, which occurred during a break in the debate of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill, Fine Gael TD Áine Collins is seen walking past her colleague Tom Barry. As she playfully slaps the Cork East TD on the arm, he puts his arms around her waist and pulls her into his lap.

A Fine Gael spokesperson said that the incident, while ‘silly’ had ‘no malice involved’.

It was a silly incident that probably shouldn’t have happened, but the two of them are good friends and there was no malice involved.

Reaction on Twitter, however has struck a different note with Barry being described as a ‘caveman’.

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Neither Collins nor Barry were available to comment.

Hat tip; @Mergito