Limerick Social Democrats member appeals decision to expel her from party

The Social Democrats party has moved to expel a prominent member of its Limerick branch who claims she is being punished for raising a “lack of representation” in an internal party meeting. The activist, Karen Sugrue, is appealing the decision under the party’s complaints process, arguing it is “manifestly disproportionate”.Sugrue, who is a sociologist and psychotherapist lecturing in the applied social sciences department of the Technical University of the Shannon (TUS), wrote to the party’s Leinster House representatives and local councillors on Monday morning criticising the decision. In her email, a copy of which has been seen by The Irish Times, she said she had been “permanently expelled” from the party having been accused of bringing it into disrepute. READ MORE“My actions were to speak at a small online meeting about lack of representation,” she wrote, arguing that a male branch colleague had spoken at the same meeting and said the same things. “How did I bring the party into disrepute but my male colleague did not? Is a woman saying something different to a man saying the same thing at the same time?”In her email she referenced the controversy surrounding the party’s Dublin Bay South TD Eoin Hayes, who was suspended from the party after it emerged he had given misleading information about the timing of his disposal of shares in a former employer that had lucrative contracts with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). “He was suspended from the party for eight months and [deputy leader] Cian O’Callaghan publicly said he had been ‘punished enough’,” she wrote. “But I have been permanently expelled from the party for speaking about (a) lack of representation at a small closed meeting in Limerick.”Councillors in Limerick have previously been supportive of Sugrue during the internal investigation.Limerick City North councillor Shane Hickey-O’Mara was previously reported to have written to party members to say the suspension was “absolutely devastating” for him and the party’s Limerick City West councillor Elisa O’Donovan. Asked for comment on the intended expulsion of Sugrue, the councillors gave a short statement to The Irish Times outlining that they were proud of how well the Social Democrats were doing in Limerick, adding they would focus on representing the constituents. “Regardless of any internal party difficulties, we will continue to represent our communities and remain true to the values that brought us into the Social Democrats in the first place: fairness, equality, transparency and a commitment to better public services.”In response to a request for comment, Sugrue told The Irish Times that while she was a volunteer and the proposed expulsion would not affect her livelihood, there was an “endemic” practice of punishing women who complain across the public sector. She did not expand on what she meant by a “lack of representation”. She said she intended to “continue to proudly work closely with the fabulous Limerick team who work tirelessly on the ground for the people of Limerick”. In her email to party representatives on Monday, she said the expulsion was “very sinister and worrying and profoundly anti-democratic and counter to every single core tenet of social democracy”. She told them that amid a backlash against women’s rights globally, and when elected women experience sustained attacks, “we in the party of more mná are not allowed to even mention sexism without being punished for it.”A Social Democrats spokeswoman said it does not comment on internal party matters.