MINISTER FOR Justice Alan Shatter has apologised for openly criticising RTÉ’s crime correspondent Paul Reynolds.
Speaking at a town council event yesterday in Templemore, Co Tipperary, after attending a Garda College graduation, Shatter accused Reynolds of “tabloid sensationalism of the worst kind” and said that Reynolds “frequently gets it very wrong”.
A spokesperson for RTÉ yesterday had no comment in response to Shatter’s criticism, but said that “Paul’s work and Paul’s record stands for itself”.
The Star reports today that Shatter issued a statement last night apologising to Reynolds for the “unfair and inaccurate” comments. He said that he had found a report by Reynolds about Oliver Connolly to be “grossly unfair”. Connolly, a barrister who donated to Shatter’s election campaign, was last week appointed by Shatter as an external confidential recipient of garda complaints. The part-time job pays €12,500 a year.
Shatter said he had been told Reynolds had apologised to Connolly and he hoped Reynolds would accept his apology.
Read more about Shatter’s apology in Patrick O’Connell’s report in today’s Star (print edition) >
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