Alan Kelly defends ‘welling up’ at Labour meeting

Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly has defended getting emotional at a private meeting of the Labour Party on Wednesday night.

Mr Kelly is said to have “welled up” while addressing the party about the leak of an analysis that showed the party could lose up to 20 seats.

Speaking on Thursday, the Labour deputy leader said he would not be drawn on what happened at a private meeting.

However, he added: “If somebody got emotional during a meeting that is not necessarily a bad thing. I think that shows a certain level of spirit and interest in the topic. It is a private meeting so we don’t talk about private meetings.”

During an address to the Labour parliamentary party, Mr Kelly insisted he was not the source of the leaked analysis.

Mr Kelly told the meeting he was a party man who loved Labour and insisted he would do everything he could to help the party maximise its chances in the general election campaign.

While Labour had spent time focusing on this story Fine Gael was making policy announcements, he said.

The analysis outlined how the party could win between 10 and 16 seats at the next general election, compared with the 37 it took in 2011.

TDs and Senators reacted angrily to the publication of the information and called for an investigation into the source, with some blaming Mr Kelly.

The Tánaiste Joan Burton and Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin have denied the existence of such an analysis.

The latest Irish Times/Ipsos MBRI poll showed support for the Labour Party has declined to 7 per cent.