A Fine Gael politician has apologised to Social Democrats TD Holly Cairns for liking a tweet that referred to her as an "ignorant little girl”.
Ms Cairns and her party have strongly opposed increases to funding for Irish greyhound racing and have called on the Government to phase out state support for the sector. That sparked a backlash online from those in the industry.
Clare TD Joe Carey liked one tweet on the issue, which referred to Ms Cairns in a derogatory manner and claimed her remarks were “waffle”, the Irish Examiner reports.
“I liked a tweet that was disrespectful to one of my fellow TDs. I should not have done so. It was wrong and I offer my sincere apologises to @HollyCairnsTD,” Mr Carey tweeted today.
I liked a tweet that was disrespectful to one of my fellow TDs. I should not have done so. It was wrong and I offer my sincere apologises to @HollyCairnsTD
— Joe Carey TD (@joecareytd) November 30, 2020
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Ms Cairns told the that while it is not funny, she said, “you do have to laugh” at the fact that the only defence that those in favour of greyhound racing have is to go on the attack.
Ms Cairns said: “How is this your defence for €19.2m for a loss-making industry that kills 6,000 dogs a year; how is that what we're talking about, you know, saying that I am a stupid little girl, or whatever? I think it's because they have nowhere else to go.”
While Ms Cairns accepted the apology from Joe Carey, she said that the tweet in question was from a member of the Irish Greyhound Board and called on the organisation to clarify their position on the matter.
