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

"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."

"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'."

"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."

Read at Irish Independent