Patsy O’Brien says pornographic message sent to Fine Gael female staffer was ‘workplace banter’

Mr O’Brien has until now refused to discuss the reason why he was expelled from Fine Gael.

However, after Fine Gael issued a statement saying they expelled the Mayo County Councillor due to him sending unsolicited pornographic images to a party member, Mr O’Brien has broken his silence.

In a statement to Midwest Radio today, Mr O’Brien said he sent one message to the individual involved around October 2019.

“The text was generic and viral at the time and was sent in error by me to a person for which I apologised for,” he said.

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“The Whatsapp, as sent, was generic and viral at the time and was not of myself. It was brought to my attention some three months afterwards, a lot of texts that are sent in the workplace environment, amount to workplace banter,” he added.

Mr O’Brien said he is continuing to examine “all documentations and paper reports that have circulated recently” and said “more importantly” the latest Fine Gael statement on the reason for his expulsion has “now been passed to my legal team”.

The earlier Fine Gael statement said Mr O’Brien was expelled from the party after an internal committee found he was in breach of their code of conduct for “repeatedly” sending unsolicited pornographic material, which was “degrading and graphic in nature”, to the Oireachtas staff member.

“This caused serious upset, alarm and distress to her,” Fine Gael said.

“A Fine Gael hearing committee in 2020 found that Councillor O’Brien sent pornographic and sexually explicit material, including videos, to the staff member while he was carrying out his work as a county councillor and when making representations on behalf of citizens and constituents.

“Accordingly, the committee determined that by his actions, Councillor O’Brien acted in a manner which was contrary to the code of conduct of the Fine Gael party and expelled him from membership of the party,” they said.

Fine Gael has not answered any questions related to Government Chief Whip Hildegarde Naughton campaigning with Mr O’Brien, despite allegedly knowing about the messages which led to his expulsion.

Mr O’Brien confirmed in his statement that at least one message was sent in 2019. In letters sent to Taoiseach Simon Harris and Justice Minister Helen McEntee, the staff member is understood to have alleged Ms Naughton was told about the messages in 2019.

Facebook posts on Ms Naughton’s official page show she campaigned alongside O’Brien in South Mayo during the 2020 General Election. On February 2, 2020, Ms Naughton posted photos of herself and Mr O’Brien having a “great day canvassing”.

The following day, she posted a video endorsement from Mr O’Brien and another councillor, along with a caption describing the two men as “really excellent and hardworking councillors in south Mayo”.

Ms Naughton has not responded to any requests for comment.