Pundit and media trainer Ivan Yates has said that he “broke no rules and I have done nothing wrong in my mind” in the controversy over media training he provided to Fianna Fáil presidential candidate Jim Gavin.
Mr Yates has been criticised for acting as a political pundit and commentator during the campaign while also providing media training to Mr Gavin, an involvement he never disclosed.
Mr Yates, a former Fine Gael minister, said that he was “relying on my personal integrity to be fair minded and impartial” while he presented radio programmes on Newstalk and the Path to Power podcast with Matt Cooper.
Interviewed by RTÉ’s David McCullagh as the first guest on the presenter’s new morning radio programme, Mr Yates said that he had an “iron and enduring rule of client confidentiality” which prevented him from disclosing his involvement with Mr Gavin.
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Instead of observing broadcasting rules which McCullagh suggested he had violated by not disclosing to listeners that he had worked for Mr Gavin, Mr Yates said repeatedly that he relied on his “personal integrity”, and insisted that he did nothing wrong.
“I’m not a Fianna Fáil spindoctor and I’m relying on my personal integrity ... was I compromised? I don’t believe so,” he said.
Mr Yates said that he had previously told Matt Cooper and the makers of the Path to Power podcast that he intended to leave early next year, and this was the “backdrop” to their decision to drop him when the story emerged.
“The backdrop was they were very upset about me leaving the podcast,” he said.
“I have nothing to say about Matt Cooper except to wish Path to Power well,” he said.
“All week, the media tried to dance on my grave,” he said, adding: “I know of no other business that is so riddled with conflict of interests.”
Later he added: “People all over the place have double standards, corporate freebies ... and no one ever says anything.”
Mr Yates said he did not tell Newstalk that he had trained Mr Gavin. He said he did not recall being asked about it.
Asked if he had ever interviewed someone on radio that he had trained, he replied: “I’m sure I have.”
He refused to discuss his work with Mr Gavin, and when asked how he thought his training had helped the Fianna Fáil candidate, he said: “Put it like this, I think he was improving.”
Mr Yates complained that he had been unfairly criticised. “I got more publicity last week than DJ Carey ... for doing my job I was treated like a criminal,” he said.
“People outside the beltway, outside the bubble, regard this as a bottle of smoke,” he said. “I broke no rules and in my mind I have done nothing wrong.”
He said he would be happy to appear at the Oireachtas media committee to discuss the issue.
