Varadkar humiliation: How Irish PM sparked outrage after horror Twitter comment
LEO VARADKAR came under fire from opposition parties who claimed the Fine Gael leader is "ridiculous" for not including Sinn Fein in coalition talks. It is not the first time Mr Varadkar has been mocked, after being pulled up earlier this year for a controversial tweet he posted to his hundreds of thousands of followers.
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Leo Varadkar is being urged to include Sinn Fein in talks to form a coalition government after Fine Gael lost a considerable number of seats at the February elections. Opposition party Sinn Fein, the politically left group historically associated with the IRA, meanwhile, enjoyed a resurgence, winning 15 seats.
John McGuinness, a senior politician from rival Fianna Fail party labelled Mr Varadkar as “ridiculous” for not including Sinn Fein in coalition talks.
He told RTE: "Fine Gael lost the election, Fianna Fail lost seats, and Sinn Fein had a good election.
"I see no good reason why, in these economic circumstances, we shouldn't have a government made up of these three parties.
"They should get on with it and start talking.
"It is ridiculous that we would spend so long talking to two single parties without exploring the input of others."
It’s not the first time Mr Varadkar has found himself at the centre of a political storm.
Shortly after the election, he provoked a furious response from Irish voters after posting a message to Twitter about his Government's pledge on housing.
According to Government data, some 10,000 people are living in emergency accommodation and considered homeless.
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Yet, the Taoiseach praised his Government’s performance on housing, recounting the number of developments underway in the Republic.
Mr Varadkar wrote: “Confirmed: more than 21,000 new homes built last year and 3,000 more brought back into use.
“Should reach 25,000 this year.
“More than 30,000 next.
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“That’s what’s sustainable and deliverable.”
The tweet immediately backfired, with voters criticising Mr Varadkar over his use of data.
One wrote: “Leo these are not homes for the poor.
“Leave it to Mary Lou (SInn Fein's leader) and can you please just leave the government and don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”
Another commented: “Stop trying to mislead people.
“These are private developments and it costs people huge rents.
“HAP (Irish social housing) means two payments a week. People are on the breadline.
“You did not help, you made things worse.
“Wake up Taoiseach. Look at the votes!
“People need change. We can't take anymore.”