TheWillie O'Dea affidavit incident orBrothelgate[1] was a 2010 political controversy in Ireland involvingMinister for DefenceWillie O'Dea.
Enda Kenny, leader of main opposition partyFine Gael, accused O'Dea of having committedperjury after it emerged remarks which he had sworn under anaffidavit not to have said had in fact been said. The remarks related to the alleged connection between abrothel andSinn Féin politicianMaurice Quinlivan. These allegations were later proven to be untrue.[2] O'Dea and Quinlivan had settledHigh Court damages over the incident in December 2009. However, increasing parliamentary pressure in February 2010 propelled the affair back into the spotlight. O'Dea resigned as Minister for Defence on 18 February 2010, withTaoiseachBrian Cowen assigning himself temporary responsibility for theDepartment of Defence.
Stephen Collins, writing inThe Irish Times, suggested "Relations between the Coalition partners [Fianna Fáil and the Green Party] may never be the same again after the resignation of Willie O'Dea".[3] According to theEvening Herald, the departure of O'Dea was "the first major casualty of the coalition government".[4] The same newspaper noted that the resignation of O'Dea was the third in two "absolutely calamitous" weeks, following the unexpected departures ofGeorge Lee andDéirdre de Búrca from Fine Gael and the Green Party respectively.[5]
On 12 January 2009, three Brazilian women were arrested in an apartment inLimerick city. They were charged the following day with brothel-keeping.[6] The three received suspended sentences of six months each and were ordered to leave Limerick city within three days. The apartment had been rented out to them byNessan Quinlivan, a formerProvisional IRA volunteer and the brother ofSinn Féin candidate for Limerick City CouncilMaurice Quinlivan. During the court hearing there was no mention of Quinlivan being the landlord and there was no suggestion that he knew a brothel was being kept at the apartment. TheGarda Síochána stated in the court hearing that the women were "pawns" of a larger operation.[7]
The controversy leading to O'Dea's resignation as Minister for Defence centred on remarks he made concerning Maurice Quinlivan toLimerick Leader journalist Mike Dwane in 2009 in the run up to thelocal elections of that year. During the interview, O'Dea made references to the brothel that had operated in the apartment owned by Nessan Quinlivan[8][9] One of the most damaging of these was, "I suppose I'm going a bit too far when I say this but I'd like to ask Mr Quinlivan is the brothel still closed?"[10]
The interview was published on 10 March 2009.[11] Dwane recorded the interview.[9]
O'Dea swore under oath anaffidavit that he had not made this remark.[12] He later retracted this denial after a tape recording of the interview emerged.[12] Damages were paid to Quinlivan by O'Dea following aHigh Court defamation challenge by Maurice Quinlivan in December 2009.[11][12] O'Dea apologised for the remarks in court on 21 December.[11]
In February 2010, there were increased efforts by politicians to explain his behaviour.Fine Gael SenatorEugene Regan brought the matter to the attention of theOireachtas and stated that O'Dea ought to resign from office.[13] On 15 February 2010,Labour Party TDJan O'Sullivan asked that he explain himself as the Minister's Sunday newspaper column indicated he was aware that the interview was being recorded.[13]
When O'Dea protested on 16 February that he had erred unintentionally Labour Party TDPat Rabbitte said he had "a cheek" to blame forgetfulness.[14] Later that day Fine Gael leaderEnda Kenny announced he would table amotion of no confidence in O'Dea, to be debated inDáil Éireann.[14][15] The motion was debated on the afternoon of 17 February, with O'Dea passing by 80 votes for and 69 votes against.[16] Fianna Fáil's partners in coalition, theGreen Party, supported O'Dea at this point.[16]Vincent Browne, writing in that day's edition ofThe Irish Times, predicted that O'Dea had "nothing to fear" as "Green Party compliance has allowed Fianna Fáil to get away with doing whatever it likes".[17] However, Green Party chairmanDan Boyle used Facebook and Twitter to express his lack of confidence in O'Dea, saying the man was "compromised" and that he ought to resign.[16][18] "The treacherous tweet" was one term for what Boyle had done.[19] RTÉ described Boyle's act as "deliberate", suggesting that "its significance could grow were there to be further revelations about the affidavit affair".[16] It was the first indication that the Green Party were not fully supporting O'Dea.[20] By the end of the week it was being seen as central to the outcome of events.[21]
The following morning, a series of what were described as "rowdy exchanges" took place in Dáil Éireann, forcing it to be suspended for a period.[22] Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny accused O'Dea of having committed perjury, a comment he would not withdraw despiteTánaisteMary Coughlan's insistence.[23] Meanwhile, Green Party memberGary Fitzgerald, a former unsuccessful local election candidate, complained to theGarda Síochána's Bridewell station staff about O'Dea's conduct.[24] An audio recording of the interview emerged in public for the first time and was broadcast repeatedly on national radio.[19][25] That afternoon O'Dea denied he had committed perjury in a live radio interview withSean O'Rourke onRTÉ News at One,[26] saying that he had made "a stupid, silly mistake".[22] He was among several TDs who failed to turn up for a parliamentary vote on a finance bill which the government only narrowly won by the casting vote of theCeann Comhairle, the first time in almost twenty years that this was needed.[19][27][28][29] O'Dea resigned as Minister for Defence that evening.[22][25]TaoiseachBrian Cowen responded to his resignation by assigning himself temporary responsibility for theDepartment of Defence.[22]Tony Killeen was later appointed as Minister of Defence. O'Dea said he decided to resign when it became clear that the Green Party would no longer support the Government if he was to stay in office.[30]
Newspapers in Ireland discussed O'Dea's resignation the following day. "Yet more proof that Fianna Fail simply don't get it",The Irish Times informed its readers.[31] TheIrish Independent said the Green Party was responsible for O'Dea's resignation and noted that he would receive compensation of €100,000.[31]
Defamation victim CouncillorMaurice Quinlivan welcomed the Minister's resignation, describing his position as "untenable" and expressing joy that the "sorry saga" had been "finally put to bed".[32]
Dan Boyle said the Green Party would remain as Fianna Fáil's coalition partners after the resignation of O'Dea.[33]
Fine Gael TDMichael Noonan paid tribute to O'Dea, speaking of his "respect" for the former minister and acknowledging: "It is regrettable that Limerick will be without a Cabinet minister for the foreseeable future".[34]
Fine Gael TDDinny McGinley criticised the Government for their handling of the affair, saying it had "brought standards in the Dáil to a new low".[35]
O'Dea's first public comments following his resignation came on 19 February 2010:
It has been absolutely incredibly tough. Not only the last 24 hours but the last ten has been an enormous strain on myself and my family. Nobody who hasn't gone through this can realise how stressful it has been and it is something I'll take to my grave, it is something I certainly wouldn't want to go through again. [...] There are very few positives for me in this whole scenario obviously. The one positive I think is the huge groundswell of support I have got from the people here in Limerick – my constituents, my friends, my canvassers, my supporters and that has been very very heartening indeed.[36]
O'Dea also admitted for the first time that the Green Party had pushed him aside.[37]
Garda CommissionerFachtna Murphy will decide soon[when?] whether to investigate the affair.[37][38]
FormerRTÉ 2fm disc jockey and friend of O'DeaMichael McNamara described O'Dea's departure as "a bad day for Limerick".[39]
InCork on 20 February Green Party leaderJohn Gormley said that prior to the Minister's resignation he had told Taoiseach Brian Cowen that O'Dea's position was "untenable and the stability of the Government would be under threat as a consequence and it would prove a real distraction" if he did go.[40]
On 18 March 2010, an opinion poll found that almost 63% of the Limerick population believed it was necessary for Willie O'Dea to resign as Defence Minister.[41]
Scandal database GateCrimes rates Brothelgate 'Totally a Gate'.[42]
Limerick rap duoThe Rubberbandits achieved success online with their lampoon "A Song for Willie O'Dea".[43][44]
As the Brothelgate crisis deepened, members of the parliamentary party scrambled to see if Willie O'Dea's promised vindication would be contained in the pages of the paper's country edition.
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