O’Dea blames gardaí for his mistake

DEFENCE Minister Willie O’Dea has blamed the gardaí for supplying him with “wrong” information that led to him defaming a Sinn Féin councillor and facing calls for his resignation from cabinet.

It came as Green senator Dan Boyle bluntly declared he had no confidence in Mr O’Dea, despite his party colleagues voting to support the minister in the Dáil yesterday.

Mr Boyle’s comments, posted to his Twitter social networking account, hinted at the tensions within the Greens over the controversy, although the senator insisted he was speaking in a personal capacity.