Hanafin denies saying Fianna Fáil stands for nothing

Former Fianna Fáil minister Mary Hanafin has denied telling a branch meeting her party stands for nothing.

Ms Hanafin said comments attributed to her in leaked minutes from the meeting had misrepresented what she had said.

In these she was reported as telling colleague that people said the party stood for nothing.

"I noted that [Senator] Labhras O Murchu, our guest speaker, always gets elected because it is clear what he stands for. When people say Fianna Fáil stands for nothing we have to be clear what it is we do stand for in order to get their support," Ms Hanafin said.

Ms Hanafin hopes to contest the general election in Dun Laoghaire, as do fellow councillors Kate Feeney and Cormac Devlin.

Fianna Fáil General Secretary Seán Dorgan said he did not know whether or not Ms Hanafin had made the comments.

He was speaking at a briefing on Wednesday morning at the publication of the programme for the party’s upcoming ard fheis.

“I wasn’t at that meeting...I saw the reports this morning, they were minutes circulated at a meeting of the Dun Laoghaire constituency,” he said.

“I wasn’t there so I don’t know whether she said that or whether she didn’t say that.”

Mr Dorgan said branch meetings “don’t necessarily file returns on their proceedings with Mount St”, referring to the Dublin location of party headquarters. “That’s not how our party works,” he added.