The Fine Gael TD abused online by colleague Barry Walsh has welcomed his resignation from the party’s national executive council after a damning 48-hour public backlash.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has declared that “nasty” slurs targetting women online by a senior Fine Gael figure are “not acceptable” and debate should be conducted in a responsible way.

We have blindly embraced social media without fully knowing how to handle it and the outing of Barry Walsh’s online behaviour has proven that, writes Elaine Loughlin.

A member of Fine Gael’s national executive is unlikely to face any sanctions over his comments on twitter until the New Year, writes Irish Examiner political correspondent, Juno McEnroe.