Fury in Fianna Fáil over Ivan Yates' involvement in presidential campaign
Broadcaster and former Fine Gael minister Ivan Yates. One Fianna Fáil backbencher said: 'Ivan Yates’ undisclosed involvement is serious. It raises more questions.' File picture: Gerard McCarthy
Fianna Fáil has refused to answer questions about hiring Ivan Yates to provide debate training to presidential election candidate Jim Gavin.
It comes amid renewed anger in the party about Mr Yates' involvement in the election campaign and another poor poll, which saw Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin’s popularity drop by 10 points to 33% in the space of four weeks.
The Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks poll also found 53% of the public believed that the Taoiseach should no longer be leader of Fianna Fáil, with 49% saying he should step down now.
Fianna Fáil dropped two points in the poll to 18%. Fine Gael also dropped two points to 19%. Sinn Féin gained two points to rise to 23%.
It was reported on Saturday that Mr Yates, a former Fine Gael minister, worked with Mr Gavin on debate preparation before he pulled out of the race following controversy over his failure to repay overpayments to a tenant.
Matt Cooper and NK Management confirmed that Mr Yates had been dropped as a co-host of the podcast for failing to disclose this work.
The Fianna Fáil press office refused to answer several questions from the over the weekend seeking information about Mr Yates’ role.
This included how long Mr Yates has been working with Fianna Fáil, when he started working with Mr Gavin, how many hours training had been completed, and on how many days it took place.
They were also asked to confirm how much the party paid Mr Yates for his work with Mr Gavin.
A Fianna Fáil spokesman said: “As a matter of policy, the party does not confirm the existence or otherwise of any relationships with suppliers or contractors.”
On Monday, the party released a statement, saying Mr Yates provided two training sessions to the Gavin campaign.
This latest news has caused further fury among Fianna Fáil backbenchers.
Louth TD Erin McGreehan said that the news “highlights the importance of the review” into the party’s presidential election campaign.
“The review now feels less like a standard exercise and more like a huge opportunity to finally put all the facts on the table,” she said.
“This review must cover every meeting and decision from the very first contact with Gavin, long before the campaign was announced. Only full transparency will restore any trust.”
Another Fianna Fáil TD told the that the party needs to confirm when it engaged Mr Yates, including whether Mr Gavin received training in advance of the selection process and the parliamentary party vote to select him.
Fine Gael junior minister Colm Brophy also said that Fianna Fáil must be forthcoming. Mr Brophy said on RTÉ:
“Fianna Fáil have questions to answer, and I don't think they can just dismiss it. But most importantly, we have regulations around fairness and impartiality that affect broadcasters.
“We need to look at the work which Ivan Yates did, and the comments he was making, which were made in the context of someone who was involved in a campaign, which nobody listening at the time knew.
“I think that's something that a number of broadcasters and maybe the regulator will need to look at.”
Matt Cooper said on Newstalk that Mr Yates could have continued on the podcast if he disclosed the work, adding that listeners deserved transparency.
Mr Yates has been contacted for comment.
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Newstalk confirmed to the that Mr Yates's participation in programming during the election is now under review. He was a co-host on the podcast , which focused on the election.
"Ivan Yates operated as a cover presenter on Newstalk for three days during the presidential campaign on September 23rd, 24th and 25th from 9am to 12pm," she said.
"Ivan Yates also appeared on a Newstalk podcast relating to the presidential campaign, the first episode of which was published on October 9th.
"Ivan Yates did not inform Newstalk of any conflict of interest relating to the presidential election campaign. This matter is currently under review by Newstalk management."
A spokesperson for RTÉ, meanwhile, confirmed it has asked Mr Yates about his involvement in Fianna Fáil's campaign but said the national broadcaster was satisfied no election guidelines had been breached.
He took part in two "pre-election" media contributions but did not appear on any shows between Coimisiún na Meán election period between September 22 and the close of polls on October 24.
"In the post-election period Mr Yates was interviewed during the ‘live’ count coverage in Dublin Castle on October 25," the spokesperson said.
"He was also interviewed on Prime Time on October 28.
"RTÉ relies on the professional bone fides of those invited to declare if they have a conflict of interest with respect to any candidate or party, if that would not be publicly known.
"Ivan Yates was well established as a media commentator since leaving politics.
"RTÉ has asked Mr Yates why he did not disclose his involvement with one campaign.
"Had RTÉ been informed by Mr Yates, we would have advised him that this would have to be disclosed to the audience, if he was to participate in any programme."
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
