Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has faced criticism over remarks he made about farmer subsidies.
The Fine Gael politician recently said: “People in rural Ireland are very quick to tell people in urban Ireland that ‘we are the real workers, we’re the ones paying the bills, we’re the ones feeding the country.’”, reports The Mirror.
However, he added: “I think we maybe need to be a little bit more blunt in urban Ireland and say, actually that is not the case.
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“We’re the ones paying all the bills — you’re the ones in receipt of a lot of subsidies and a lot of tax benefits that other people don’t get,” reports The Mirror.
Noel Thomas, who is contesting the Galway West by-election, strongly criticised the comments, describing them as “shameful”.
Speaking to the Sunday Independent, the Ireland Independent candidate said: “As far as I am concerned, most people in rural Ireland work hard each day and contribute enormously to the tax take, reports The Mirror.
“And they get none of the services that the urban dwellers have like water mains, sewerage, paths, lighting and get a lot less playgrounds and other amenities.
“Rural dwellers do not begrudge the urban dwellers for having these extra services, as it’s obviously population driven. But it is shameful for Leo to be coming out with statements like this,” reports The Mirror.
He also claimed that the former Taoiseach was “trying to push the agenda to get all rural dwellers into the towns and villages and cities”, reports The Mirror.
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