Oireachtas committee sitting abandoned amid row between Fine Gael and Sinn Féin

An Oireachtas committee sitting has been abandoned after a row over recent comments made by a Sinn Féin TD. Martin Browne told Tipp FM the party must stop apologising for IRA acts, and said he had called to the houses of party members to discuss their social media posts about Sinn Féin. It comes after a party member resigned when someone called to her house to ask her to take down tweets critical of TD Brian Stanley. The Public Petitions Committee today had to adjourn when Deputy Browne - the committee's chair - declined to address the issue. Brendan Griffin and other Fine Gael TDs, meanwhile, said they wouldn't continue until he did. Deputy Griffin asked: "As [you're the] chairman of this committee, I wonder will you take the opportunity now to explain those comments? "They've cost an awful lot of hurt and upset to many people." Deputy Browne responded: "Listen to the actual interview, and come back to it. Don't attribute comments that have appeared on print media. "As I said, it isn't on the agenda, and I'm going to move on now." Fine Gael's Eoghan Murphy argued there was a 'serious question' around the work of the committee following the remarks, and urged the chairman to repeat what he said on radio to the committee members. He claimed that discussing the issue in private rather than public session would 'feel like censorship'. Deputy Browne, however, insisted he will be an impartial chair of the committee - and said the committee meeting 'wasn't the forum' for the issue. Today's row comes amid the ongoing controversy over past remarks made by Sinn Féin TD Brian Stanley. Deputy Stanley is due to make a 'full personal statement' to the Dáil next week.