Ivan Yates has said he regrets the impact of his "smear the bejaysus" comments on the presidential campaign but told an Oireachtas committee that the comments were weaponised.
Mr Yates was giving evidence before the Oireachtas media committee this evening when he also said that prefacing podcast with disclaimers or a declaration of interest would be a "guaranteed mood killer".
He said he is "flabbergasted" at the attention on his media training, which he said is a small element of his commercial activities.
Mr Yates said he keeps the identity of his clients confidential but his work with Fianna Fáil has been written about before.
It emerged last month that Mr Yates had provided media training to former Fianna Fáil candidate Jim Gavin, and went on to discuss the candidate on his podcast.
He also provided training to a number of other politicians.
However, Mr Yates said he did not do training while a full-time broadcaster between 2009 and 2020.
Speaking during the committee session, the former Fine Gael minister said podcasts are an important space in the media ecosystem.
He said he approached his podcasting on Path to Power with deep political experience and connection.
He added: "A guaranteed mood killer in the environment would have been if we had been forced to preface every debate with a disclaimer or a declaration of interests."
Sinn Féin TD Joanna Byrne asked whether Mr Yates' "mood killer" comment about podcasts showed arrogance and entitlement.
She said politics is not an entertainment show and asked if he accepted the public deserves honesty when it comes to political coverage and conflicts of interest.
Mr Yates said he does regard the Path to Power podcast as being in the entertainment business.
He said his views are analysis, punditry and entertainment, adding that no one has to listen.
Mr Yates told the Oireachtas media committee that he "deliberately" did not tell Mr Cooper about the coaching.
He said there was a "hysteria" inside an "absolute media-political bubble" about the controversy.
Deputy Byrne asked whether Mr Yates understands that trust in media is slipping and his actions are contributing to that.
Mr Yates said people told him this whole controversy was a huge distraction from the real issues, including migration and housing.
Asked if he had coached Jim Gavin and presented on Newstalk on the same day, Mr Yates said he was not going to comment on any matter that was subject to an investigation by Coimisiún na Meán.
Pressed on the matter by Fianna Fáil Senator and former broadcaster Alison Comyn, Mr Yates said he was drawing "a line in the sand" and noted that he was not compelled to be before the committee.
When asked about conflicts of interest by Fine Gael TD Brian Brennan, Mr Yates said that the media coaching he is involved in is "is like the physio on the team, not the bainisteoir".
He added that he sees it as an "agnostic activity" and a "simple task".
"I regard that as a mechanical exercise and I don't think it conflicts with what I think or what I say."
Watch: 'Like the physio, not the bainisteoir', says Yates on media coaching role
Mr Brennan also pressed Mr Yates on his "smear the bejaysus" comment and said Mr Yates had the opportunity to apologise during the committee session.
The Fine Gael TD said he thought the comments were "disgusting and totally disrespectful to the presidential process".
In response, Mr Yates said he thought the deputy was being "excessively precious".
He said politics is a "knock down drag out business" and power politics is about that.
Mr Yates said that he regretted the impact that the phrase had on the whole campaign but claimed the reason it for the impact was that it was "weaponised" by the Connolly campaign.
He said he was not apologising but is sorry it happened and about how it was weaponised.
'Politically correct media' limits conversation, says Yates
Mr Yates told the committee he was aware "controversy has arisen" about his broadcasting roles and remarks during recent months of the Presidential Election.
He said this includes the fact that Coimisiún na Meán "is presently conducting a review into these matters with both RTÉ and Newstalk".
Mr Yates said the issues are being "properly processed there" and that he is available to meet with Coimisiún na Meán "if they desire it".
The podcaster and former Fine Gael minister also said he was attending the media committee in part to assert his "bona fides".
"I have always acted in good faith in discharging each individual role to the best of my ability," he said.
He described his broadcasting and podcasting style as "pugnacious", adding that he believes people having honest opinions, and being advised on how to put those opinions forward, is crucial to a functioning media.
On the wider media environment, Mr Yates said: "The reality is that people who express strong opinions on topics such as migration, Trump, the 'woke agenda' and the nanny state don't conform to a mainstream media consensus.
"A sanitised 'politically correct' media limits the national conversation. It could widen the gap between ordinary people and the 'belt way'. A national echo chamber is one of the greatest drivers of alternative media."
Opening the session, chairman Alan Kelly said that other companies and individuals were invited to the Committee but they did not attend.
He said some of them pointed out they do not work in that space. Others who do work in the space also declined to attend, he said.
Mr Yates said it was a pity no else was attending.
Fine Gael Senator Garret Ahearn asked Mr Yates if he had received training for today's session. Mr Yates said he did not and he trains himself. He said, however, that there are people from whom he would take advice.
Asked whether client confidentiality was a problem, Mr Yates said he is not a member of any party and not a member of political teams in the training he provided.
He said his training involved doing mock interviews based on what people want to say.
Mr Yates said during the Covid-19 pandemic he wrote down 20,000 words of everything he has ever learnt and put it in a syllabus.
He then used this as part of a masterclass, adding that people have gone through that class.
Committee hears calls for regulation of podcasts
Earlier, the Oireachtas Media Committee heard calls for the regulation of podcasts, which are currently not covered by the Broadcasting Act.
Under proposed changes to the legislation, only RTÉ and TG4 will be required to meet standards for podcasts as well as news and current affairs.
Alan Kelly, said the Presidential Election identified a gap in the legislation, after it emerged that Ivan Yates had provided media training to former Fianna Fáil candidate, Jim Gavin, and went on to discuss the candidate on his podcast.
Coimisiún na Meán also said it would discuss the review which is ongoing, but did tell the committee that the onus is on broadcasters, not contributors to declare any conflicts of interest.
The media regulator also said that if it were investigating a complaint, it would take into account if a bad actor didn't declare their interests to a broadcaster, but this was said in a general context, rather than a specific incident.
Coimisiún na Mean said it usually received media training from the Communications Clinic when asked by Social Democrats TD Sinead Gibney.
But its Commissioner Aoife McEvilly clarified that they did not get training for this session, as the Communications Clinic had been invited to appear before the committee on the matter.
Additional reporting PA
