Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is a fake comparison.

In an unusual step in the course of the debate Senator McDowell named two journalists from The Irish Times, Mr. Pat Leahy and Ms Sarah Bardon. They are two journalists of the highest repute and they are objective in their ongoing analysis. It is my understanding that the article penned by Mr. Leahy, which Senator McDowell referred to, had an inaccurate quote from an RTÉ interview undertaken by my colleague the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Shane Ross. It was a journalist's interpretation of a misquote on the part of the national broadcasting service.