Fine Gael member of parliament  Frank Feighan claims a man threatened to kill him if he voted in favor of Health Minister James Reilly’s plan to close the Roscommon hospital facility on Monday.

Feighan defied the threat and supported the government stance but fellow deputy Denis Naughten faces expulsion from Fine Gael after voting against his own party on the closure of the Accident and Emergency department.

Feighan claimed before the motion was defeated that he received a death threat over the controversy.

“I have received numerous threats. I received a death threat last night,” he said on the Shannonside FM radio station.

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“I am dealing with the situation. I will not be bullied. A man who rang me said that he would put a bullet in my head.”

Roscommon-South Leitrim representative Naughten went against the party whip and supported a Sinn Fein motion which called for the A&E facilities to remain open.

Naughten’s election campaign was based on a promise to retain the facility and he is now certain to lose the party whip and his role as chair of the parliament’s Health Committee, a job worth $14,000 a year.

“This was an extremely difficult decision,” said Naughten. “My problem was I had given my word based on a commitment I had been given by the party.”