A Labour Minister of State who stormed out of a live radio debate has described the discussion as an "absolute disgrace".

Ann Phelan was taking part in a debate with the other 14 election candidates in Carlow Kilkenny, broadcast on KCLR last night.

But in the heat of the two-hour debate, and about 15 minutes before the end of the broadcast, she told her fellow candidates she was "fed up with the whole bloody lot of ye", and promptly left the studio.

She also said: "I'm just going to give up here now…I came in here and I've been completely ignored."

Ann Phelan is Minister of State with special responsibility for rural economic development.