Long serving Laois County Councillor Aidan Mullins has announced his resignation from Sinn Fein.
In a statement this afternoon, the Portarlington based politician said he had informed the party earlier today.
He confirmed that he will remain in Laois County Council as an Independent Councillor.
Cllr Mullins said: “I tendered my resignation, effective immediately, from the Sinn Féin party earlier today.
“I will remain as an Independent Councillor.”
Speaking to LaoisToday, Cllr Mullins explained his reasons behind opting to leave the party.
He said: “This has been brewing with me for the last 12 months or so as I felt I was being silenced.
“I clashed with the party over their stance on the referendums and also on immigration.
“They had no policy on immigration at all and didn’t produce one until after the Local Elections.
“On the local elections, the party refused to listen to me and others when it came to our strategy.
“Last February, I shared a post about a decision from a governing body that where they had decided to ban biological men from taking part in female sports.
“Another member of the party made a complaint about me and accused me of being ‘anti-trans’.
“I had never made any comment on the post, I simply reshared the decision.
“I was informed today that I had been suspended for three months for breaking their code of practice and that was the final straw for me.
“This is not the party that I joined and I really feel that they have lost their way completely.
Cllr Mullins was first elected to Laois County Council in 2014 and successfully retained his seat in 2019 and last June.
His decision means that Caroline Dwane-Stanley is the only remaining Sinn Fein councillor in Laois.
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