Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

I did not have a transcript of the interview when I made my statement but as I had seen the report of it in the newspaper, I felt sure a transcript of that tape recording would vindicate my recollection. I was wrong. I have never denied saying what was reported in the newspaper. I knew I had made the remarks reported in the paper but I did not recollect going beyond them. My mistake relates specifically to remarks that were not published in the paper, which I honestly did not recall making. When I later saw a transcript of the interview I saw that I had, contrary to my recollection, gone further in what I had said and what had been quoted in the newspaper.

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