Varadkar: I won’t

Taoiseach refuses to back down over ‘don’t vote for Casey call’ after hopeful’s controversial comments

THE Taoiseach has said he won’t be apologising to Presidential runner-up Peter Casey for urging the electorate not to vote for him in the wake of his controversial comments on Travellers.

Speaking to Marian Finucane on RTÉ Radio One yesterday, Mr Varadkar – who was labelled a ‘thundering disgrace’ by Mr Casey on The Late Late Show on Friday night – rubbished suggestions that he owed Mr Casey an apology.

He said: ‘I’m not quite sure what I’m being asked to apologise for. I’m not going to apologise for getting involved in an election campaign. I didn’t tell the electorate to do anything. The Irish people are grown-ups and can vote whichever way they please, and I think that was fair comment [telling voters to remember Mr Casey’s comments on Travellers when they went to the polls].’

Mr Varadkar added that every Taoiseach in the history of the State had supported a Presidential candidate. He said: ‘I’ve seen this kind of notion the last couple of weeks that somehow the Taoiseach is supposed to be above politics and not supposed to be getting involved in elections. I think people might be getting mixed up between the President and the Taoiseach.

‘The Taoiseach is very much involved in politics and every Taoiseach actually in history has backed a particular candidate for the Presidency...’

Mr Varadkar continued: ‘I was asked by the media what I thought about his comments on Travellers and I said that I disagreed with him, and that I hope that the Irish people would reflect that in the ballot box and obviously some of them did and some of them didn’t.’