The former chair of IBRC, and former leader of Fine Gael Alan Dukes says he made comments about people from border counties because of a spate of violence following the rescue of Quinn Industrial Holdings.
He has apologised on the Last Word for claiming they "turn to violence more easily" in a documentary about businessman Sean Quinn.
Alan Dukes apologizes on @lstwrd now
— Matt Cooper (@cooper_m) December 1, 2022
Justice Minister and Cavan Monaghan TD Heather Humphreys said those communities stood up against violence for years - despite suffering the most from the actions of terrorists and criminals.
Speaking to the Last Word on Today FM, Mr Dukes apologised unreservedly:
"Those remarks were entirely unjustified, they offended a great number of people.
"I was thinking really about the wave of violence and intimidation that followed the action that we took to rescue what we could from the Quinn Group" while working with the Irish Banking Resolution Corporation.
"There was as you know very strong personal violence that Kevin Lunney attack was outrageous.
"There was sabotage of material and equipment, and intimidation - all of that was dreadful.
"It didn't in any sense justify for the remarks I made. which as I say apologise for without any qualification."
