Former Fianna Fáil TD Jim Glennon confirms he wrote character reference for child exploitation offender

He said he is the former TD referred to during a court hearing for Daniel Ramamoorthy

Mr Glennon said: "I recognise that my actions may have added to the pain and distress already caused by the horrific abuse they endured, and I am deeply sorry for contributing to their suffering."

Former Fianna Fáil TD Jim Glennon says it was an “error of judgement” to write a character reference for a former Government advisor convicted of sexually exploiting a 13-year-old boy.

Mr Glennon confirmed he was the former TD referred to during a court hearing for Daniel Ramamoorthy, apologising to the victim and their family.

The former Irish rugby international was a TD for Dublin North between 2002 and 2007.

Earlier this month, Judge John Edwards told a court it was “quite extraordinary” that a TD who provided a character reference for Ramamoorthy failed to mention the child or the crime. The identity of the TD was not disclosed during the court hearing, but it led to rampant speculation in the aftermath.

Mr Edwards later confirmed it was a former TD who provided the reference to Mr Ramamoorthy.

In a statement, Mr Glennon confirmed he was the TD in question.

“The crimes committed by Mr Ramamoorthy were vile and of the most egregious nature. I offer my unreserved apology to the victim and to their family. Writing the letter was an error of judgement. I recognise that my actions may have added to the pain and distress already caused by the horrific abuse they endured, and I am deeply sorry for contributing to their suffering.

“I failed to give proper weight to the gravity of the crimes, to the trauma experienced by the victim and their family, and the courage it takes to report such abuse. I was extremely naive and I was wrong.

“I will be writing to the family of the victim, through the Courts Service, to express my sincere apologies directly.

“I will also be resigning from any and all employment, consultancies, and directorships that I currently hold."

Earlier this month, the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by Mr Ramamoorthy against his sentence of two years and four months.

The court noted that he had not taken responsibility for his offending, there was no acceptance of fault or criminal liability, and no acknowledgement of the impact of his conduct on the victim and no "earnest" remorse.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he believed that elected representatives should never provide character references for anyone charged or on trial for sexual offences.

“As a general principle, I don't believe public representatives should be giving character references — particularly in cases that involve sexual exploitation or sexual abuse or anything of that nature,” he said.

“I don't believe that's acceptable, and I don't think public representatives should do that.”