DUBLIN SOUTH:FINE GAEL got former RTÉ journalist George Lee to have campaign photographs taken five days before he told the national broadcaster he was quitting to run in the Dublin South byelection partly to restrict his ability to pull out at the last moment.
The disclosure that Mr Lee, who is now running in the Dublin South byelection, posed for pictures was criticised by Fianna Fáil and Labour, though both trod carefully lest they face criticism for questioning the motives of the popular broadcaster.
Speaking to RTÉ last Monday, Mr Lee said he had not decided until over the course of the May holiday weekend to accept the Fine Gael offer, even though the photos were taken on the Thursday before.
Last night, a senior Fine Gael source said the party had "simply been prudent" and acted as "any professional political party" would in wanting to have publicity material ready to distribute immediately after the entry of such a high-profile candidate.
However, it is also clear that Mr Lee's last-minute decision to turn down a Fine Gael offer to him to run in the 2002 general election was also on the mind of Fine Gael strategists when they sought the photo-shoot.
"He found it hard to make his decision . . . It was a big jump. We could not waste any more time. We had to have a decision," said the source.
Fianna Fáil TD Timmy Dooley said the latest information about Mr Lee's final moves before he accepted the offer raised "serious questions both for him and for RTÉ".
"It really beggars belief that he posed for photos for Fine Gael election literature so soon before declaring and yet was telling people at the same time he had not made up his mind about running for the party," he said.
Criticising RTÉ management, he asked if they had sought "any specific assurances" from Mr Lee given the speculation that had surrounded his name for some time.
"Fine Gael were saying for weeks, if not months, that they had a byelection candidate for Dublin South who would need no introduction to anybody," said the Clare TD.
"Did RTÉ ask George Lee for reassurances and did he give them a commitment that he definitely would not be a candidate?
"It is important that RTÉ, as a public service broadcaster and for the sake of transparency and impartiality, clears this up.
"If Mr Lee did not give them a fulsome assurance, then it shows, at a minimum, extreme naivety on RTÉ's part.
"There is a public-interest need to know here, not just regarding the case of George Lee but for the integrity of RTÉ generally," said Mr Dooley.
Last night, an RTÉ spokesman said the disclosure about the photo-session "did not change anything" it had said on the issue up to now.
Meanwhile, Minister of State Conor Lenihan claimed that there was "a significant media bias against Fianna Fáil at the moment".
He said many media commentators were biased in favour of Mr Lee "as opposed to the other candidates because he is perceived to be 'one of ours' so to speak - one of the media whirl and we should promote him - that's what's happening", he told Newstalk 106.