Fr Peter McVerry has apologised to An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar after claiming that he intervened to stop the Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien from maintaining the eviction ban.
Earlier this week the veteran homeless campaigner said that the ”Minister for Housing wanted to extend the ban and was acting in preparation for extending the ban.
“But he was overridden by the Taoiseach and that’s why there was no preparation made during the five-month ban for mitigating the effects of ending the ban“.
A spokesperson for the Taoiseach reacted by saying ”that claim was “100% incorrect and without any foundation.”
Speaking on ‘The Neil Prendeville Show’ on Cork’s RedFM, Fr McVerry admitted that the words used were ‘unfortunate and inaccurate‘.
“The phrase I was given was that the Taoiseach had overridden the Minister.
“In light of the Taoiseach’s denial, which I accept as true, I believe that that phrase was unfortunate and inaccurate“.
A statement from our founder Fr. Peter McVerry SJ pic.twitter.com/FQ9gIAJvwW
— Peter McVerry Trust (@PMVTrust) April 5, 2023
Fr McVerry said the phrasing suggests “a conflict, or dispute between the Taoiseach and the Minister.”
Asked if he was offering a clarification or apology, Fr McVerry said: “An apology to the Taoiseach, yes.”
