Brian Brennan Confronts Ivan Yates Over "Smear" Comment About Catherine Connolly in Heated Oireachtas Exchange

In a fiery exchange during an Oireachtas meeting last night, North Wexford TD Brian Brennan sharply confronted former politician and media pundit Ivan Yates over his derogatory comments regarding presidential candidate Catherine Connolly. The controversy stems from Yates' use of the phrase “smear the bejesus out of Catherine” during a discussion on political campaigning, which Brennan condemned as "absolutely disgusting" and "totally disrespectful" to the presidential process. Deputy Brennan demanded an official apology for the comments pointing out that both Connolly and fellow candidate Jim Gavin had already faced immense personal and professional pressure throughout the campaign. "You know exactly what every candidate went through," Brennan said, calling Yates' words an attack on the integrity of the election. He further questioned why any candidate would put themselves forward for office when they risked being subjected to such negative rhetoric from political commentators. Yates, in his defence, attempted to downplay the remarks describing them as part of the “colourful” language used in political commentary and not an actual suggestion to smear anyone’s reputation. He explained that the term "smear" was being taken out of context and claimed he was simply reflecting on negative campaigning, not advising anyone to engage in it. "It was in a context of a kind of... more colloquial language," Yates argued, maintaining that he would never use such language in a formal broadcast setting. However, Brennan was undeterred, arguing that Yates' comments had stoked the flames of toxicity on social media and could have harmed Connolly's campaign. "You were pouring fuel on the fire, encouraging a reaction," he said, accusing Yates of exacerbating an already contentious situation. Despite Yates acknowledging the negative impact of his words, he refused to apologize, saying he regretted the incident but blamed the Connolly campaign for "weaponizing" the comments.