Enda Kenny has blamed a Fine Gael official for arranging to appoint John McNulty to the board of the Irish Museum of Modern Art.

In the Dáil this afternoon the Taoiseach said the official had not told Fine Gael's internal Seanad committee that he was arranging the appointment.

The Taoiseach has again insisted that he did not discuss the prospect of appointing Mr McNulty to IMMA when he was interviewing him for the Seanad seat.

He says a staff member in Fine Gael headquarters had compiled his CV, and sent it on to the Arts Minister to be considered:

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has said the story is unravelling:

Earlier today, the Seanad struck down a plan to haul in Taoiseach Enda Kenny for questioning over the John McNulty affair.

A Fianna Fáil proposal to call in the Taoiseach for questioning was defeated by 22 votes to 11.

Last week, Senators narrowly approved a similar proposal to call the Arts Minister, Heather Humphreys, for questioning on the issue.

Group political editor with the Irish Independent, Fionnan Sheahan, says Mr Kenny has a complicated relationship with the upper house.

Meanwhile, the Fine Gael deputy leader James Reilly says backbench TDs will use the parliamentary party meeting this evening to express concerns over the McNulty controversy.

Mr Reilly admits the handling of the Seanad nomination of John McNulty has not been the party's 'finest hour'.

His comments come after a number of TDs say they are 'deflated' and 'disappointed' over the cronyism row - with many anticipating 'robust' exchanges of view this evening.

Mr Reilly says he expects many backbenchers to make their disappointment known.

The last time Mr Kenny met with his parliamentary party was at the think-in in Cork three weeks ago, where many members told him that the whole party needs to have more of a say in election strategy.

On the closing day of that think-in, Mr McNulty was made a director of the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA).

Mr Kenny was in America last week, and missed the last party meeting where his handling of the McNulty affair came up for relentless criticism.

That criticism is likely to be repeated tonight, with even more anger now that Mr McNulty has withdrawn from the Seanad election, and left the Government without a majority in the upper house.

Mr Kenny might have hoped that his comments in the Dáil yesterday would draw a line under the scandal. However, with many backbenchers likely to attack what they see as 'stroke politics', it could be a difficult evening.

Fine Gael's Dublin North TD Alan Farrell has admitted he is "disappointed" and "deflated" by his party's handling of the cronyism row:

Mr Kenny has said he takes full responsibility and the blame for the controversy surrounding the nomination of John McNulty for the Seanad.

Fidelma Healy-Eames is an independent Senator, having lost the Fine Gael whip last year. She told Newstalk Breakfast that the Taoiseach "has used the Seanad as his plaything" and the "real victims" are democracy and accountability:

Yesterday, the government unveiled a new system for appointments to state boards.

It has signed off on a new system where all positions on state boards will have to be filled by public advertisement.

It has also agreed that all people appointed to state boards will need to have experience in the sector, and complement the skills of other board members.

Originally published at 7:37am