Tánaiste stays quiet on whether Rabbitte should apologise after court settlement

Labour leader Eamon Gilmore would not comment on whether Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte should apologise to RTÉ licence-fee payers after the broadcaster reached a settlement out of court for comments he made on air.

A libel action taken by a retired garda was due to begin last Tuesday, but was settled out of court without RTÉ admitting any wrongdoing, in an agreement reported to have cost the broadcaster €100,000.

The case related to comments made in 2006 by the then leader of the Labour Party, who was on radio to discuss the findings of the Morris report into Garda corruption in Donegal.