Fianna Fáil have admitted that they have decided not to take the party whip off a TD convicted of speeding at 190kmph.
Kerry TD Michael Cahill was recently appointed to an Oireachtas committee despite being banned from the road for two years.
It comes amid growing disquiet among Fine Gael ministers over what they call a discipline breakdown in Fianna Fáil under Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s weakened leadership.
Asked about the status of the internal investigation into Deputy Cahill’s conviction, a Fianna Fáil spokeswoman said: ‘The party’s Rules and Procedures Committee recently recorded a motion of censure against Deputy Cahill in relation to the matter of his recent conviction.
'He was informed of this some weeks ago.
‘Deputy Cahill has been told by the party that his conduct on the day in question was completely and utterly unacceptable.
‘He has indicated that he fully understands and accepts that and he has apologised for his actions. He also resigned from the Oireachtas Justice Committee.’
In a separate incident, Wexford-Wicklow TD Malcolm Byrne was arrested for drink driving two weeks ago.
On Thursday, he was replaced by fellow Fianna Fáil TD Naoise Ó Cearúil as chair of the Oireachtas committee on artificial intelligence.
But both Mr Byrne and Mr Cahill retain the party whip.
Fine Gael Cabinet sources this weekend said they believe Mr Martin’s ‘softly-softly’ approach to TDs who commit serious road traffic offences is ‘damaging the image of the Government’.
One minister told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘I was astounded when Michael Cahill retained the Fianna Fáil whip when he was convicted of that egregious speeding offence in the courts.
‘While he left the [Oireachtas] Justice Committee position, it is very bad for the image of Fianna Fáil that he was kept within the party.
'But our interpretation is that Micheál Martin is too politically weak to take action against these people.’
The heartbroken father of a teenage girl who was killed by a speeding motorist called on the Taoiseach to sack TDs found guilty of driving offences.
Frankie McCann, whose daughter Kiea and her best friend Dlava Mohammed were killed in a crash as they were driven to an end-of-school debs dance in August 2023, accused the Taoiseach of ‘letting them [TDs and senators] do what they want’.
Kiea McCann and her best friend Dlava Mohammed were killed in a crash as they were driven to an end-of-school debs dance in August 2023
He told the MoS: ‘If that was an ordinary Joe, they would be reprimanded and thrown out of their jobs. But the likes of those boys seems to get a wee back seat so they do and [are] let do what they want.’
Kiea and best pal Dlava died when the car they were in – driven by a former family friend – hit a tree outside her home town of Clones in Co. Monaghan.
It later emerged Anthony McGinn, from Drumloo, Newbliss, Co. Monaghan, lost control of the car while he was driving at 150kph.
The 61-year-old was given a seven-year sentence after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing the deaths of the young friends.
Kiea’s father said the Taoiseach should sack TDs who are found guilty of driving offences to set ‘an example’.
He added: ‘They should be removed. What kind of example is it for the rest? They [Fianna Fáil] are not setting an example by keeping them in a job. It’s a weakness surely to the country and everyone else.’
Aside from Fine Gael, there was shock in Fianna Fáil when Mr Cahill was appointed to replace constituency rival Danny Healy-Rae on the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee – less than three months after Mr Martin removed him from the Justice Committee.
Kiea McCann on the evening of her debs
Dlava Mohammed on the evening of her debs
Mr Martin is deemed to be on borrowed time as leader of Fianna Fáil after series of high-profile errors, including his disastrous backing of former Dublin GAA coach Jim Gavin as the party’s presidential candidate.
If a motion of no confidence were tabled in Mr Martin, only TDs would vote in it, not MEPs or senators, who also make up the parliamentary party.
One Fianna Fáil minister noted: ‘The nature of the Fianna Fáil no confidence motion means that all Martin has to do is keep the TDs onside.
'So whereas a fella caught horsing it up a road at 200kph would have been hurled out of the parliamentary party in a millisecond, it’s not happening now.
‘For instance, [former minister and now MEP] Barry Cowen’s drink-driving offence 10 years ago was arguably lesser than Cahill’s. Cowen’s offence would have been a penalty-points offence had he had a full licence rather than a provisional one.
‘But doing that speed that Cahill was doing in the modern era is totally unacceptable, which the Taoiseach said himself at the time of his conviction.
'But it’s acceptable for him to keep the whip and be put on a committee. I’m sorry but it makes us look like a bunch of backwoodsmen. Or the Dukes of Hazzard or something.’
Though Malcolm Byrne is awaiting a court date on drink-driving charges after being stopped at a Pearse Street checkpoint in Dublin, he admitted he’d been arrested on suspicion of drink driving.
Pallbearers carry the coffin of Kiea McCann after her funeral service at the Sacred Heart Chapel in Clones, Co. Monaghan. Dlava Mohamed, 16, and Kiea McCann, 17, both students at Largy College in Clones, were killed
Frankie McCann (centre), the father of Kiea, wipes away his tears as his daughters coffin leaves the Sacred Heart Chapel in Clones, Co. Monaghan after her funeral service
The Fianna Fáil spokeswoman said: ‘This is an ongoing investigation and Deputy Byrne is co-operating fully with An Garda Síochána. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.’ The privilege of a party whip is at the full discretion of the party leader, but Mr Martin has said little about it publicly.
Mr Cahill, 60, of Rossbeigh, Glenbeigh, Co. Kerry, was disqualified from driving for two years after being convicted of driving at 190kph on a motorway.
Though Malcolm Byrne is awaiting a court date on drink-driving charges after being stopped at a checkpoint in Dublin, he admitted he’d been arrested on suspicion of drink driving
Kerry TD Michael Cahill was recently appointed to an Oireachtas committee despite being banned from the road for two years
It comes amid growing disquiet among Fine Gael ministers over what they call a discipline breakdown in Fianna Fáil under Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s weakened leadership
He became a TD last year after serving 34 years as a councillor. He appeared before Fermoy District Court in January.
Mr Cahill, who was at the time the party spokesman on older people and tourism and a member of the Justice Committee, was charged with dangerous driving at Ballinamona-Ballybeg, Mitchelstown, Co. Cork, on March 13, 2025.
In a statement after his court conviction, Mr Martin said Mr Cahill has ‘rightly received his punishment in the courts, a decision he fully accepts’.
‘Deputy Cahill has accepted that this incident let down both his family and the wider community,” he said at the time.
‘He has also decided to step down from the Justice Committee. The matter will also be considered by the party’s Rules & Procedures Committee in due course.’
Today we reveal for the first time that Deputy Michael Cahill, who was convicted of driving at a speed of 190kmph, was given a censure by Fianna Fáil’s disciplinary watchdog committee.
A censure is a largely symbolic public reprimand used most notably when an organisation wants to be seen to condemn an action without removing a member from active participation.
Or in layman’s term, a slap on the wrist.
The news comes after the Irish Mail on Sunday asked for an update on the case following the recent arrest for alleged drink-driving of Malcolm Byrne TD, an offence which is currently being investigated by An Garda Síochána.
It is not known if Deputy Byrne will be charged.
But one welcome aspect to today’s news – for him at least – is that he now need not fear that any subsequent charge will unduly impact on his future preferment within Fianna Fáil.
For this is the only conclusion that can be taken from the fact that Deputy Cahill was put on to the Agriculture Committee while his crime was being adjudicated by the supersleuths of the Fianna Fáil Rules and Procedures Committee, before delivering their thundering censure – on stone tablets, no doubt.
Of course we don’t know precisely what was in the motion passed.
Maybe it provided the context that road deaths in Ireland increased in 2022, again in 2023. They dropped slightly in 2024, before continuing to climb last year to 185 souls.
Maybe they also added that as of last night, 77 people have been killed on Irish roads this year.
This includes 33 drivers, 13 passengers, 19 pedestrians, eight motorcyclists, and four pedal cyclists.
This is up six on the same period last year, which perhaps the censure referenced.
Perhaps they quoted from the Government’s Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030 which ‘has the ambition of guiding Ireland towards “Vision Zero”... the long-term goal of eradicating road traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2050’.
Maybe it added that: ‘A milestone objective on the path to Vision Zero by 2050 is to reduce fatalities and serious injuries by 50 per cent by 2030 (compared to a baseline of the
average for 2017-2019).
Perhaps it also reflected on relevant targets in the general area, explaining that ‘to be on course to achieve Vision Zero by 2050, Ireland would need to reduce fatalities by 2030 to 72 annually.’
Maybe they quoted Frankie McCann, heartbroken father of teenager Kiea McCann who was killed by a speeding motorist going 30km slower than Deputy Cahill was when he was caught – to really drive home their disapproval of his actions.
He previously told the MoS that the appointment of Cahill back to a position on an Oireachtas Committee was an insult to all road traffic victims.
Maybe, although we suspect readers will share our suspicion that the motion is unlikely to have been that detailed.
But even if it was, and they added all of this, ultimately it would not matter. Because they would simply be words. Not actions.
And the reality is that Fianna Fáil’s inaction on this matter stems from political weakness, and professional cowardice.
Overseen by a leader who is prepared to put aside any semblance of principle so that he might cling, just that bit longer, to his dwindling power.
Remember that the next time you see a minister or spokesperson representing this Government having the gall to speak out about road safety.
Remember to do as they say, and not as they do.
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