[ad_1]
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has said that Sinn Féin TD Brian Stanley’s apology for his social media posts was not enough.
The Laois-Offaly TD’s social media accounts were taken down Thursday night in the wake of controversy over two separate tweets.
On Thursday, Stanley said he had nothing to apologize for for a tweet he sent about Leo Varadkar in 2017 when he was elected the head of Fine Gael.
In the 2017 tweet, Stanley, now the head of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), wrote “yippee 4 d tory. it’s Leo. You can do whatever you want in bed, but you don’t look like a raise the next morning. “
During the release of a PAC report on Thursday, Stanley said his track record of campaigning for gay rights “speaks for itself.”
Mr Donohoe told RTÉ Morning Ireland on Friday that a tweet linking a person’s sexuality to their ability to do their job was “absolutely unacceptable.”
“You cannot make those comments about anyone. We are a different and better country than that, ”said Donohoe.
He said the comments had been indicative of Sinn Féin’s attitude towards the politicians they oppose.
When asked whether Mr. Stanley should resign his position as PAC chair, the Minister said that Mr. Stanley had questions to answer if he wanted to remain in office.
“Why did you delete your Twitter account, what other comments were there?”
Donohoe said Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald and the party had to answer that question today.
The tone of Stanley’s tweet was unacceptable and it was “poisoning the well of how we debate politics in this country. . . You have to explain why you needed to delete the account, ”Donohoe said.
‘Coordinated effort from Fine Gael’
Stanley told The Irish Times on Thursday: “From what I can see, this is a coordinated effort coming from Fine Gael and certain sections of the media and if that is the game they are playing, I am not part of it. I’m not allowing people to misunderstand [MY COMMENTS]”.
Speaking at the launch of the PAC report, Mr. Stanley said: “Some people have set out to try to change this in some way. I don’t have to apologize to anyone because my gay rights record is valid. I campaigned in every campaign for gay rights. I grew up in an Ireland where homosexuals were criminalized. I grew up in an Ireland where women were treated horribly. So I don’t have to apologize to anyone. “
Stanley added: “Let me just say this, if we’re going to get to the point where we don’t allow a certain level of freedom of expression and every word is twisted and transformed, then we’re not going to get very far as a society. . “
When asked to explain the tweet, he said: “What I meant by that tweet is that we were trying to push through legislation and measures regarding workers’ rights and the minimum wage and minimum wage. The point I was making is that it is great that we have achieved the rights of gay people and women and of course that. But what I wanted to say was that we still had the missing piece as a Republican, the missing piece, to try to promote workers’ rights. “
Stanley said short tweets can be “misinterpreted.”
“’Yippee’ meant that I celebrate the fact that we have come this far in terms of rights for gay people.
“For some people from the other major parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, it took a while, and I’m not saying this in a disrespectful way, to turn around the issue of gay rights and contraception.”
In additional comments provided by Sinn Féin, Mr. Stanley said: “I have been involved in politics my entire life and defending the rights of all citizens, including the rights of the LGBT community, has been key in everything I have done. My record speaks for itself.
“That tweet was about Leo representing people ‘getting up early in the morning’ but their refusal to keep a living wage. It does not mean or suggest anything else. “
Co-leader of the Social Democrats, Catherine Murphy, said she did not think Stanley’s 2017 tweet was acceptable.
“Representative Stanley has spoken to us about his own role in promoting the rights of people, gay and bisexual and LGBT in general, and I accept that, but I don’t think it is acceptable to link someone’s sexual orientation to public policy. I don’t think the reference to the (old) Taoiseach is acceptable. “
Ógra Sinn Féin’s Dublin wing said Wednesday night that the tweet was sent in connection with comments Varadkar made during Fine Gael’s leadership campaign on the representation of people who get up early in the morning.
However, there was concern among some Sinn Féin members over the message and several members expressed their concerns on social media.
Stanley apologized Wednesday for a controversial tweet Saturday in which he referenced incidents from the Revolutionary War and the Troubles.
He said his actions were his. “I take full responsibility for them. There is no one else who should take responsibility. I am very aware of what he has said ”.
[ad_2]