'I made a hames of it’: Limerick TD clarifies remarks he made following fuel protest

PATRICK O’Donovan has admitted he “probably made a hames” of what he was trying to say when he criticised media coverage of the fuel blockades.

The communications minister and Limerick TD said he “could have used a better form of words” when, earlier in the week, he suggested he would be asking the media regulator Coimisiún na Meán to review the coverage, which he said was “lopsided” in favour of demonstrators.

The comments sparked a backlash, with Labour leader Ivana Bacik comparing him to ousted Hungarian President Viktor Orban, widely seen as being hostile to independent media.

Mr O’Donovan’s own party leader Simon Harris distanced himself from the comments, and the Limerick Fine Gael TD confirmed he would no longer be pursuing a review.

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Speaking on RTE Radio One this Friday lunchtime, Mr O’Donovan said: “I did not overstep the mark. But I think what I did do is I probably made a hames of what I was trying to say which is that it is very important in a democracy that everybody’s voice is heard.”

An Irish expression, a ‘hames’ refers to a mess or botched job.

“One of the things we can all take from the previous 10 days is we should all look back and say: 'is there anything I would have done differently?'. Certainly the word ‘review’ I would not have used. In hindsight, I should have used the word 'engage, chat to, which is exactly what I did on Tuesday,” added Mr O’Donovan.

“The point I was making - and I would say I could have used a better formula of words - is that in a democracy it is so important all voices of all political arguments, of all different cohorts and all different discourses are heard,” he said.