DAIL OUTRAGE AT LEO’S BALACLAVA JIBE TO SINN FEIN
Man is detained at eviction in Co Roscommon THE Taoiseach sparked fury in the Dail yesterday when he warned a Sinn Fein TD his balaclava had slipped.
The comment came as Pearse Doherty questioned Leo Varadkar over the eviction of a family from a repossessed house in Co Roscommon last week.
He described the incident as “appalling” and an “act of thuggery”.
Mr Doherty said: “That’s a cause of significant concern to any right-thinking people.
“What happened in Roscommon was a disgrace, it was unjustified and brought to mind the scenes of our past where families were being evicted and thrown on to the side of the road.”
He urged the Taoiseach to support “families, and not financial institutions”.
Mr Doherty also called for the laws around security staff who conduct evictions to be reviewed. Mr Varadkar hit back by saying: “When it comes to Sinn Fein and the rule of law and public order and condemning violence it doesn’t take very long for your balaclava to slip.
“No one likes to see anyone evicted under any circumstances and particularly in the run-up to Christmas, but the High Court does not issue eviction orders lightly.
“In Ireland 116,000 mortgages have been restructured, 116,000 people have sought help and had their mortgages restructured yet there has only been 400 eviction orders executed in the last year.”
Protesters claimed they were badly beaten when the Mcgann family were thrown off their farm in Falsk near Strokestown.
A clash between supporters and security guards on Sunday morning left a dog dead and eight people Pearse Doherty injured. Last night the Mcganns released a statement through Sinn Fein MEP Matt Carthy.
They said: “Our family has been overwhelmed by the levels of support we have received and we wish to pay special thanks to our neighbours and friends who have greatly helped us during a very traumatic time.
“We would also like to pay tribute to the people from across the four corners of Ireland whose sympathy and solidarity has been of great assistance in our time of need and to the people who travelled long distances to stand in solidarity with us.
“We wish to make clear we condemn all forms of violence and want to see the rule of law upheld but we have also been deeply upset by the use of inflammatory language that has characterised much of the media reportage.
“We believe our plight has been exploited by some wishing to further their own narrow agendas and we were particularly disappointed at comments made today by An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar during Leaders’ Questions in the Dail.” Leo Varadkar