A Dublin West by-election candidate has made a complaint to gardaí claiming that he was blackmailed by individuals over a video that shows him making alleged racial comments.
David Hall is known for his position as director of the Irish Mortgage Holders Organisation.
Mr Hall stated that the comments – understood to have been about colours in a casino game – were taken completely out of context and were “banter between friends”.
He also said the timing of the event was “completely sinister” with the elections just two weeks away.
“A number of weeks ago, a number of individuals approached me indicating that there was video footage of a couple of seconds long that they wanted to sell to me for €10,000,” he said.
“I handed it over to the gardaí (in Blanchardstown) to investigate…This was banter among friends in the context of a game of cards about three or four years ago.”