Taoiseach’s comments on case ‘mind blowing’

COMMENTS about the Belfast rape case made on live radio by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar during the trial have been described as “mind blowing” by Irish Labour Party leader Brendan Howlin.

The former minister said politicians should know better than to reference an active trial, especially one so high-profile.

Yesterday, it was revealed how Mr Varadkar (right) sought legal advice after an appearance on Newstalk’s Pat Kenny Show on March 9.

The presenter was forced to interrupt the Taoiseach on two occasions as he brought up a “certain trial happening in Belfast” during a discussion on the abortion referendum.

Mr Varadkar was attempting to make the point that introducing rape as a specific grounds for abortion would not be workable as it would require some form of process to prove an attack had occurred.

Referencing the Belfast case, he said: “Can you imagine putting women through something like that, or anything even vaguely approaching that?”

He added that in order to avoid “revictimising” a woman, his government would propose to make abortion legal without specific grounds up to 12 weeks.

Mr Howlin said for anybody to make such public commentary during a trial is bad.

“For a politician it is doubly bad. For the Taoiseach it is quite mind blowing that any comment would be made about an ongoing trial. I hadn’t heard it before. To say it’s unfortunate is to put it mildly,” he said.

Although the trial was being held in a different jurisdiction, Mr Howlin said: “If you say something on any broadcast media, whether it’s social media or a radio station, you assume it’s broadcast to the world.”

Howev- er, the former public expenditure minister revealed that he had to reprimand one of his own senators for a social media post made shortly after the jury acquitted Ireland rugby internationals Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding.

Aodhan O Riordain tweeted his own views on the outcome, including a reference to “smug well connected middle class boys”. The tweet was quickly deleted — but not before it was reposted hundreds of times.

Mr Howlin said he spoke with the senator, who “put his hands up” and admitted it was a mistake. “It shouldn’t have happened,” the party

leader said.