Presidential candidate Peter Casey has dismissed claims his controversial comments about the Travelling community propelled him to second place in the polls for the Presidential Election.
He said that he went up in the polls because he spoke about the people who were really hurting.
Mr Casey, a former star of Ireland’s version of Dragons’ Den, is on course to come second in the poll, with around 20% of the vote.
This would represent a remarkable result for the Derry native, whose support base hovered around 1% in opinion polls prior to his critical remarks about Travellers and welfare recipients.
Rivals have accused the Derry man of engaging in “populism”, with some comparing his campaign to Donald Trump’s bid for the White House.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Casey said that middle Ireland was feeling tired and felt like nobody was listening to them.
On members of the Travelling community being worried about what might follow his comments, Mr Casey said his comments “did not unleash anything”
“I did not unleash anything … they are 0.7% of the population and they are exactly the same as you and me. They are proud Irish people.
“There are so many wonderful ethnic minorities in the country – people from Africa, people from India, people from all different continents – they are different ethnic status. The people in the Travelling community are not, they are as Irish as you and me.”
The presidential candidate did not rule out a future run in politics saying he will run for the presidency next time.
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