Tensions downplayed after Fianna Fáil senator's comments on Varadkar's housing record 

Senator Mary Fitzpatrick said her remarks were 'flippant' and she was not as diplomatic as they could have been. Picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have sought to downplay emerging tensions over the perceived "hijacking" of the housing issue by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

A prominent Fianna Fáil senator has offered to apologise to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar after she criticised his record on housing over the past decade.