LEO VARADKAR has criticised Sinn Fein for what he's described as an exclusionary attitude towards white, middle-class men.
The Tanaiste's criticism follows video footage posted on Twitter by Fine Gael senator Barry Ward on August 2, which shows Mr Ward responding to comments made by Sinn Fein senator Lynn Boylan about the inability of white, middle-class men to understand what it is like for members of other demographics to go before the Irish Courts.
Varadkar retweeted the video on Wednesday, alongside the caption: "If you are white, male or even worse middle-class, Sinn Féin doesn’t want you. So much for an 'Ireland of equals'."
If you are white, male or even worse middle-class, Sinn Féin doesn’t want you. So much for an ‘Ireland of equals’ https://t.co/y4FBVsqppq
— Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) August 12, 2020
In the footage, Ms Boylan can be heard saying to Mr Ward: "You’re a middle class, white man, so you view the law completely different to somebody who is a Traveller, to somebody who is uneducated, to somebody who is maybe a member of the Roma community.
"So it is very, very different when a landlord says to you: 'You be very careful about filling in the declaration because you could be prosecuted'. And that you know that the law doesn’t treat you the same, it doesn’t treat you the same, so we are trying to be constructive."
Mr Ward can be seen afterwards hitting back, telling Ms Boylan: "I'm really slow to take lectures from her [Ms Boylan] on the fact that I am a white, middle class male. I think there is an important point here.
"I have spent 14 years of my life, Senator, representing the very people you have talked about, members of the Travelling community, members of the Roma community, members of parts of society that are done down by officialdom in this country.
"I have defended those people, I know very well what it is like for them."
