Cllr John Crosse, a publican and member of South Tipperary County Council, claimed that Michael Fitzgerald . . . kicked out of Fine Gael on the orders of party leader Enda Kenny . . . "was saying what everybody was thinking but nobody was saying".

At his family pub in Donohill, Co Tipperary, Crosse said, "Rural Ireland is full of regular seasoned drinkers who just go for a few drinks and drive home. There is a distinction between the seasoned drinker and boy racers who drink-drive as most of the trouble is being caused by the boy racers."

"The law is the law and nobody is advocating that anybody should drink 10 pints and drive home. I am a family man with three children and I know that the law has to be upheld. I am not saying that drink-driving is right I just want to point out you have seasoned drinkers who are out for a few pints on a regular basis, " Crosse told the Sunday Tribune.

He said that people's social lives were "being seriously curtailed or almost gone altogether because of the fear of having a couple of drinks and being caught on the way home and maybe ending up losing their license and their job."

The Fine Gael councillor claimed that he has a good working relationship with gardai and that they are doing a "fantastic job" but he also believed that rural gardai have "their hands tied" with the instructions that are "coming from the top".

He added that "there needs to be a practical, workable solution to the problem of rural social life being shattered. I have middle-aged people coming in here and having a few drinks that would never have an accident. The problem is boy racers stuffed to the gills with drink and drugs and the gardai do not even have a test for drugs. I understand that it is very hard for the government to categorise and separate these two groups of motorists."

Crosse claimed that he often leaves people home who have "had one too many" but he also pointed to the lack of taxi and hackney services in rural Ireland as one of the main causes of drink driving in rural areas like Tipperary.

He also raised concerns over the way people are afraid of being breathalysed by gardai on the way to work having had a few drinks the night before. Crosse also pointed out that Fitzgerald, who topped the poll in the last local elections "will be a councillor for as long as he wants" and that he will be working to help have the Fine Gael party whip returned to him.

Fitzgerald's controversial comments received mixed views in rural Fine Gael party ranks. Councillor Liam Galvin from Abbeyfeale, Co Limerick said: "The law is the law and you cannot drink-drive. Banning drink driving saves lives so it has to be ruled out and I think that Michael Fitzgerald's comments were wrong."

In Inishowen Co Donegal, where the roads have claimed a high number of young lives, Councillor Bernard McGuinness claimed that Fitgerald's comments were ill-advised.

Cavan councillor Joe O'Reilly from Bailieboro said:

"While we have to have these laws there is negative fallout from the current clampdown as it has created problems in rural Ireland. People in isolated areas are hit as the pub is their only social outlet. The government and the vintners should come together to bring about a rural transport scheme to bring people to and from pubs like they have in England."

In Dunkineely, Co Donegal, councillor John Boyle said, "Michael Fitzgerald has a lot of sympathy but his comments were incorrect. I met with a Garda chief superintendent the other day and she told me that there would be zero tolerance for drink-driving in Donegal. I think that Fitzgerald just did not phrase his comments properly and I don't think he should be thrown out of the party."

Meanwhile, back in Tipperary, one local man in John Crosse's pub last week summed up Michael Fitzgerald's plight for the Sunday Tribune. "People have to realise that the councillors in Tipperary are not trained by Carr Communications and 'Mick Fitz' just didn't choose his words properly."