Varadkar: 'I need to be more careful about my tone'

Taoiseach admits he doesn't always use 'the right words' when answering questions

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said it was his political style and personality to give a straight answer to a straight question. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has admitted he can be too blunt when answering questions and said it was something he intended to work on.

Mr Varadkar has been accused by Sinn Féin of lacking empathy to the realities of life facing people, particularly the impact of the housing crisis.

He said it was his political style and personality to give a straight answer to a straight question while speaking at a pre-Christmas interview and agreed he could be too blunt.

“That is something I will be more careful with, quite frankly.

"It's probably in my nature and my personality to give a straight answer to a straight question.

"But tone is important and often it's important not just what you say, but how you say it.

"There have been examples in the past and I don't want to go through them, I'm sure you'll find them, where I would have said things that are factually true, but sometimes the way you say them can come across wrong or can come across as though you don't understand or you don't care.

"That is something I need to be more careful about in the future. I intend to be. I won't be perfect," he said.

The Taoiseach recently warned a large number of younger people considering emigrating from Ireland amid the housing crisis that “the grass looks greener” but they “are not going to find rents are lower in New York”.

He was criticised for the comments, which caused a backlash as young Irish people abroad said their decision to emigrate was due to the housing crisis and working conditions in the healthcare system.

Mr Varadkar has now admitted that “perhaps" he didn’t use the right words to get his point across.

“Look, I think people who travel abroad or go abroad to live do so for all sorts of different reasons. Sometimes for personal reasons, sometimes for economic reasons.

“I think it was a fair point to point out that at least for the last three years, more Irish citizens have come home than have left.

“That is a fact. It's not my opinion.

“If you look at EU citizens, for example, EU citizens just like us, can travel and live in 27 different countries, including Berlin, Vienna, Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels.

"Huge numbers of EU citizens choose to come to Ireland. Not because the rents are lower or because the housing situation is so good, far from it, but because this is a good country to live in.

“There are very good economic opportunities here as well.

“Perhaps the words weren't the right ones, but that was the point I was making,” he said.

In a recent interview with the Irish Mail on Sunday, the Fine Gael leader said he would support rank and file gardaí being armed if such a request was sought by the Garda Commissioner, which led to Garda representative groups and Coalition TDs rejecting his backing of gardaí carrying guns.

Commenting on politicians evading questions, he added: "It's the nature of politics that people in politics sometimes don't want to answer questions because they don't want to start a row or start a controversy.”