Fine Gael has hit back at remarks by Defence Minister Willie O'Dea in which he claimed the party had behaved despicably over the issue of the release of the killers of Garda Jerry McCabe.
The spokesman described Mr O'Dea's remarks as 'ill tempered'.
Mr O'Dea criticised Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny and Fine Gael TD Michael Noonan for the way they had used the issue, and he said other parties had not used the issue for political purposes.
The Fine Gael spokesman retorted by saying Mr O'Dea was more concerned about the timing of information about the release of the McCabe killers than with the fact of their release.
He also claimed that Enda Kenny had raised the McCabe issue in the Dáil a day after Fianna Fáil's Limerick East TD Peter Power expressed his concerns in the Irish Examiner.
