Leo Varadkar has apologised for his recent comments about the gap between rural and urban Ireland.
The former Taoiseach has admitted that he "went too far" with his remarks, adding that he "did not mean to annoy anyone".
This comes after Varadkar had his say on the nationwide protests over fuel costs by tractor and lorry drivers, where he said that rural Ireland is subsidised by the urban economy, and “very quick to tell people in urban Ireland that ‘we are the real workers, we’re the ones paying the bills, we’re the ones feeding the country".
Speaking to the Path To Power podcast with Matt Cooper, Varadkar added: “I think we maybe need to be a little bit more blunt in urban Ireland and say, ‘Actually, that is not the case. We’re the ones paying all the bills. You’re the ones in receipt of a lot of subsidies and a lot of tax benefits that other people don’t get’".
Now, Leo Varadkar, who stepped away from politics two years ago, has admitted that he "went too far" with his comments on the subject.
“I apologise to anyone I offended. I genuinely did not mean to annoy anyone", the former Fine Gael leader told the Irish Independent on Wednesday. “I accept that I overstated my case and went too far on certain points".
While insisting that that urban economies still produce most of the country's wealth, Mr Varadkar has acknowledged that his initial remarks were loose and slightly exaggerated.
Varadkar's comments caused huge controversy and heaped more pressure on Fine Gael, a party which is traditionally quite strong in rural areas. They have also led to strong push back, including from within the political party. They have also faced pressure from many rural and independent politicians and Independent Ireland.
For example, current Fine Gael leader Simon Harris said: “We need to stop defining people by their geography".
“And we need to recognise that there are people in urban Ireland, people in rural Ireland, who work their backside off, and they want Government to help where we can, and they want Government to get out of the way where they can", he added. “We don’t need to divide. We don’t need to categorise people or stereotype people".
In March 2024, Leo Varadkar stepped down as Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader, having first been elected to the Dáil in 2007, before going onto become Taoiseach in 2017. More on this story here.
