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23rd November 2024
05:52pm GMT
Taoiseach Simon Harris has apologised after being criticised for an exchange he had with a disability worker in Cork on Friday night (22 November).
The Fine Gael leader was in a shop in Kanturk as part of his campaign trail when Charlotte Fallon approached him and criticised him for doing "nothing" for the disability sector.
After telling the Taoiseach that she is a section 39 disability worker, she said: "We fought for our money and we were ignored."
When Harris denied this, Fallon said: "Yes we were, the disability sector is a joke. You've done nothing for us. Our people are suffering.
"I'm very passionate about my job," she added while on the verge of tears.
The Taoiseach responded: "I'm very passionate about disability too," to which she replied: "But there's no mention in the Budget whatsoever."
When Fallon then accused Harris of ignoring the carers, he said this wasn't true.
He then shook her hand as she continued talking and went to walk away.
Fallon then said: "Keep shaking your hands, pretend you're a good man. You're not a good man."
The Taoiseach then turned back around and told her: "Okay, well, if you don't think I'm a good man," before walking away again.
Fine Gael leader Simon Harris was approached during a canvass this evening by a woman who says she is a carer, and who said she believes the Government has "done nothing for us" | follow live: https://t.co/eUoCK3Qb5Y pic.twitter.com/MXiN9b60Ke
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) November 22, 2024
RTÉ posted the interaction to Twitter where it has garnered 2.4 million views, with many taking to the comments section to criticise Harris.
In an Instagram video, the following day The Taoiseach addressed the incident.
He told his followers: “I do want to say this. One of the reasons I got involved in politics, in fact the reason I got involved in politics, is disability services.
"I wouldn’t be a politician, or certainly a politician at such a young age, was my brother not born with autism, did I not see the struggle my parents, particularly my mother, went through in trying to fight for services and answers and the loneliness that my family often felt as well.
“That's why I’m determined to prioritise disability services and the needs of carers as well. I’ve had those conversations with so many people right across Ireland.
"I was in Kanturk last night, at the end of a very long day, and I was talking to a woman who works in a section 39 disability organisation. She was raising issues with me and I want to say I did not give her the time I should have given her.
“I feel really bad about that because it’s not who I am. It’s not what makes me tick... I do hope to be able to have a longer conversation with her because I want you to know I am in the business of listening, of learning, of acting when it comes to disability services.”
In an interview with The Irish Times, Fallon said she was "shaken" and "upset" by the encounter but that the Taoiseach phoned her to apologise.
Harris' party colleague Neale Richmond also told RTÉ's Saturday with Colm Ó Mongáin programme that Harris and Fallon have agreed to meet and discuss the issues again.
Main image via RTE News
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