Mr. Ivan Yates:

To be honest, Deputy Brennan is being excessively precious. I have dealt in politics over eight general elections. Politics is a knock-down drag-out business. That is what it is. Power politics is about that. I have looked at it in many jurisdictions and have been a student of politics. Obviously, I had no idea it would be replayed on national broadcasters out of context and that Catherine Connolly herself, for five days in a row, would speak about the violence of the language and so on. It was all out of context. I was not literally advising anyone to do it. I was saying this was an option. Was the language too colourful? Perhaps so.