Taoiseach addresses Traveller accommodation letter sent by FG byelection candidate

The Taoiseach has spoken to a Fine Gael byelection candidate over a leaflet she sent expressing 'delight' that plans for Traveller accommodation had been scrapped in her area.

Cllr Emer Higgins who is contesting the byelection in Dublin Mid-West, wrote a letter to residents in her area in 2014 in which described the decision of the council as a “victory for the community.”

She has since apologised for offence caused by her comments. When asked about the controversial remarks Leo Varadkar yesterday moved to dismiss them, claiming the issue had been dealt with.

"I have spoken to her about it, in fact this was an issue back in 2014. She accepts fully that she was wrong to use that term 'delighted' in relation to the decision not to go ahead with that accommodation," said Mr Varadkar.

The Taoiseach confirmed that he spoke to Ms Higgins about the leaflet on Wednesday night.

There's nothing new to say because like I say this issue arose years ago and we dealt with it then and she apologised then

However, he took aim at Fianna Fáil's by-election Lorraine Clifford Lee, who is running in Dublin Fingal, dubbing tweets she sent out as “racist, misogynistic and body-shaming”.

Ms Clifford Lee has apologised in recent days for online posts made in 2011 in which she made derogatory remarks about Travellers.

In the tweets, which were written before she became a Senator Ms Clifford-Lee said described the person who stole her car as "some knacker" and in another described some clothes as being "like something from a Traveller wedding".

But Mr Varadkar said the response from Fianna Fáil has been "inadequate".

"Those were tweets that were sent by a qualified solicitor, a woman in her 30s, a woman actively involved in Fianna Fáil at the time,” he said.

“Just describing them as inappropriate isn’t enough, we should say what they were: misogynistic towards women, racist towards Travellers and classist, and also body shaming, and I don’t think they are becoming of someone who is Fianna Fáil’s equality spokeswoman.

“I’m not sure what it says about Fianna Fáil’s commitment to equality," the Taoiseach told reporters in Swords where he was canvassing with his party's candidate James Reilly.