Junior housing minister Christopher O'Sullivan posted a message in a private Fianna Fáil WhatsApp group praising drink-drive TD Malcolm Byrne as "always destined for greatness," attaching old footage of Byrne on the Late Late Show, then deleted it about an hour later once he realised the timing. The post came the same evening the Irish Mail on Sunday revealed Byrne had recorded a urine alcohol reading almost two and a half times the legal limit, and it landed badly with colleagues, one likening the reaction to "a fart in a lift," fuelling a wider sense that some politicians were tone-deaf to the seriousness of the case.

Byrne, who is due before the Criminal Court of Justice in Dublin on 2 November, has apologised and said he will "face up to whatever happens." Sources said O'Sullivan appeared not to have read that day's coverage, and the message went unanswered before being deleted at 7.45pm. Taoiseach Micheál Martin said precedent dictated that the courts, not the party, should determine any punishment, while several Fianna Fáil TDs expressed growing anger at Byrne's conduct, noting there could be "no excuses" for being so far over the limit.