Aibu to find this comment from Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar deeply offensive to all people with intellectual disabilities & their families. Absolutely appalling.

[55balloons]

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/politics/arid-41143480.html

This same man is trying to rush in draconian hate speech laws in Ireland..

Many disability groups in Ireland have quite rightly voiced their disgust & despair..

These vulnerable people with intellectual disabilities are suffering enough at the hands of our Prime Minister & his Fine Gael party through severe lack of funding. How dare he make fun.
Ireland as a nation is in a very bad way...

And I thought our Tories were a nasty lot! No it's a horrible thing to say.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/leo-varadkar-slow-learners-remark-30034011.amp

Another article which features some comments from disability groups. Time for change in Ireland big time.

This statement comes right after Leo Varadkars partner Matt's awful behaviour inside King Charles coronation. His boyfriend was posting on social media during the actual ceremony making a mockery of it.
Obviously not good for Ango Irish diplomatic relations..

Leo lives in his woke misogynistic middle class bubble. He’s a nasty piece of work.

& don’t get me started on his mate Roderic O’Gorman.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/may/14/red-faces-in-ireland-over-coronation-quips-by-leo-varadkar-partner

Leo's partner Matt's shenanigans inside King Charles coronation.

@VaddaABeetch same with O Gorman. What have they done to our lovely country? It's beyond the pale..

These comments coming from the man who is rushing in the hate speech law is ludicrous.

Very, very disappointing.

https://twitter.com/caulmick/status/1661343812076072961?t=KP_Efdv8m_26SBmWvek9Fw&s=08

And here he is today refusing to apologise. Well done to the Sinn Féin woman for giving him a well deserved bollocking.

I don't like Leo but would never vote for Sinn Fein either and cannot understand anybody who would.

Same re Sinn Fein

don’t generally mind leo

I was never a fan but his Clinton gaffe in the U. S on his St Patrick's day visit, his nose picking at the coronation, his boyfriends complete disrespect at King Charles coronation (Matt was a representative of our nation on a state visit. I could never imagine Mrs Sunank behaving like that while accompanying Rishi. Leo is Rishi's Irish equivalent), his disgusting nose picking at the coronation & now stooping as low as to make a mockery out of the intellectually disabled..

For fear of derailing the thread, would stating biological reality be classed as hate speech under Varadkar’s proposed hate speech laws?
Hate speech can be quite subjective..why are Irish people not up in arms/concerned?

Apparently so as you are targeting a vulnerable group even though you would be speaking the truth!
I hope Leo is grilled thoroughly about his "slow learner" comments as he targeted a very vulnerable group in jest & that sounds like hate speech to me..

@Lolaandbehold it's not being reported by the mainstream media & it is frightening as are the reprocussions.. Free speech is effectively being stamped out.

I hear it as about people who struggle to learn from their mistakes, like those who can't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Like this poem:

Chapter I
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost… I am hopeless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.
Chapter II
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in this same place.
But it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
Chapter III
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it there.
I still fall in… it’s a habit… but,
my eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
Chapter IV
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
Chapter V
I walk down another street.

He used very offensive language & targeted a very vulnerable sector of our society. It is unforgivable however you twist it.

Leo needs to go. He's an awful human being, imo. FG (with FF and Green party help) have destroyed Ireland. I have never thought Leo a good politician. No matter what portfolio he had he was always focused on the next one. He represents Ireland on the global stage but behaves disgracefully while doing so. He makes disabilist comments, gives sensitive information to his pals etc. From the clip posted above, I've noticed he's adopted Michéal Martin's tactic when dealing with SF criticism - deflect by focusing on SF behaviour. Imo, the country would have been better off if Leo hadn't won a seat in the last GE on the 10th count. Personally, I think FG are getting tired of him and may try oust him soon. I really hope they do.

Leo & Roderick O Gorman have been the ruination of this country. It is getting worse by the week.
I have no faith in any of our politicians.. Simon Coveney needs to come back for a start to Lead FG.
Targeting to intellectually disabled has to be Leo's lowest moment to date. There is no going back from this. Our most vulnerable who get so little from our government to make their lives a little easier & their carers also.
Just highlights how little empathy he has & how out of touch he is with our nation. Here is the man who shouts about "inclusivity"...

@Evanna13 don't know who I'll vote for.. Independents at this stage all our main parties with the exception of Aontú have the same policies & agendas unfortunately....

@55balloons It's very hard to know, I have voted Fine Gael in the past because I like my local TD and I feel a vote for them keeps Sinn Fein out. I do feel let down by Leo, I much preferred MM as Taoiseach. I really wanted Simon Coveney to win their leadership election. I like the Soc Dems but they would likely go into coalition with Sinn Fein!

@Evanna13 I know it really does come down to your local TD... Our Labour td in my area is excellent, he understands the issues in my urban jungle & really tries his best to get them sorted ..
I like Simon Coveney too, he would a much better representative for the country.. Couldn't imagine him having as many diplomatic gaffes or referring to "slow learners" in jest.. Mícheál Martin either.. Both Mícheál & Simon both show a degree of sensitivity & empathy..

Hadn't heard about the boyfriends comments at the coronation. They've just made me laugh a lot, I can't really be angry about those. The Clerk of the Closet one genuinely just made me laugh out loud. Also, I'm English with no loyalties to Ireland especially, but even I can see that your average Irishman isn't going to be a mad fan of the royal family. His seeing the coronation as being a bit mad is hardly shock of the century.

@IJustHadToLookHavingReadTheBook but he's representing our country as our Prime Ministers partner. Phones were supposed to be off during the ceremony yet there was our Prime Ministers boyfriend posting away & taking the piss. If he was an ordinary guest it would have been rude & ignorant. But when you are our head of states plus one it's entirely unacceptable.
I couldn't imagine Mrs Sunak or Jill Biden behaving so immaturely!
Also Leo was picking his nose at the coronation walking up the aisle! The pair of them were an embarrassment..

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.indy100.com/amp/leo-varadkar-nose-picking-coronation-2659975434

Varadkar is one of the shiny new breed of politicos. Very ambitious and utterly ruthless. People were singing his praises at the start because he was a qualified medical doctor with an Indian
father. He presented himself as old school conservative and a staunch capitalist…until of course he wasn’t (the social conservative bit of course). When he was standing for leader of FG he was anti abortion and never said a word about gay rights. Then he sensed the mood music was changing and he became fiercely pro (name the cause). He’s never fought one battle himself. When he met the vile Trump he was all over him like a rash. Contrast Varadkar’s speech with Enda Kenny’s the previous year. When he acts v inappropriately eg being filmed snoring the face of a young lad in a nightclub , a couple of months ago, he screams about his privacy. He’s a medical doctor and talks about ‘slow learners’.He is desperate for the ROI to join a European Army & become part of the industrialized military complex so feared by Eisenhower. He’s a prick and no doubt he’s eyeing up his next job with Goldman Sachs et al.

100%. Gender is one of the characteristics of this law. You are also guilty until proven innocent and hate is not defined so it is the end of free speech in Ireland which is an extremely dangerous thing.