Ivan Yates’s role as a co-presenter of the popular Path to Power podcast with Today FM broadcaster Matt Cooper has been ended “with immediate effect” after it emerged he had coached Fianna Fáil’s Jim Gavin during the recent presidential race.
The former Fine Gael minister became a prominent figure in the campaign after he said that Fine Gael “should smear the bejaysus” out of Independent candidate Catherine Connolly.
It emerged in The Irish Independent on Saturday that Mr Yates played a significant role in preparing Mr Gavin for the first presidential TV debate, though he had less to do with the Fianna Fáil candidate’s second debate.
However, his undeclared involvement with Fianna Fáil caused difficulties for the creators of the Path to Power podcast, Today FM broadcaster Matt Cooper and NK Productions, owned by agent Noel Kelly.
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In a statement on Saturday afternoon, the two said they had “taken the decision to end Ivan’s role as co-host of Path To Power with immediate effect” following the disclosure.
“Neither Matt Cooper nor NK Productions were aware that Ivan was working on the campaign, and both believe that this information should have been shared with the audience of the podcast when the presidential election was being discussed.”
Speaking on Saturday, Mr Cooper said: “While we have always been aware of Ivan’s commercial activities, his decision not to advise us that he was actively engaged in the presidential election on behalf of one of the parties is disappointing.
“Had he shared that information with us, we would have made sure that our audience was aware of the matter when we were discussing the election,” the broadcaster said in a statement, which followed a conversation with Mr Yates on Saturday.
The former Fine Gael minister’s unwanted “bejaysus” advice to Fine Gael, his former political party, was seized upon by the Connolly campaign, even though he had no role in the Fine Gael campaign.
However, the Connolly campaign argued that it highlighted the nature of the campaign that Fine Gael itself had run. “In relation to the politics of fear, I think Ivan Yates did us a favour in articulating what happened,” the president-elect said after the election.
Mr Yates, it emerged today, had recently advised the Path to Power team that he intended to quit the popular podcast in the new year to pursue other projects.
Nevertheless, Mr Cooper and NK Productions said they had taken the decision that in light of the disclosure about Mr Yates’s involvement with the Fianna Fáil campaign, his role as a co-host would end immediately.
Mr Yates has been contacted for comment.
