Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

I agreed a settlement in which, as I have already outlined, the other party fully accepted that there was no intention to mislead on my part.

The matter was a personal one between me and a Sinn Féin representative in Limerick. It did not pertain to my responsibilities as a Minister or to Government policies in any shape, way or form. It was born out of heated political exchanges between me and the Sinn Féin candidate in the run up to the local elections in Limerick city. It was dealt with in open court more than two months ago and reported widely in the newspapers at the time. Both parties to the dispute agreed that the matter was resolved and that there are no outstanding issues. As far as the two parties and the courts are concerned the matter has been closed since 21 December.

A Fine Gael Member of the Seanad has sought to raise this closed matter on the Order of Business in Seanad Éireann on a number of occasions over the past several weeks. He made unfounded accusations against me on 2 February, 3 February, 11 February and, I understand, today. He has asserted, directly and indirectly, that I only corrected my statement when I had been found out and that I have admitted that I lied on oath. These two unfounded claims have been used as the basis for much of the media commentary since then.

As I have not lied under oath, I most certainly have not admitted to lying under oath. I made a mistake. The other party to the action acknowledged and fully accepted this in the settlement agreed in court.

See this speech in context