Smith calls on Dukes to retract "outrageous" comments about border people

QUINN COUNTRY Dukes regrets how he phrased his comments

A local Fianna Fáil TD has branded former Minister Alan Dukes' comments about people living in the border as outrageous, and called on him to retract them.

The former Fine Gael politician suggested during RTÉ's Quinn Country documentary that people living in the border are more inclined to violence.

“Border people have it in their blood," Mr Dukes said during the third and final episode in the series. "They are living in communities that have a long history of violence of different kinds. And they will more easily turn to it than anyone else will.”

Mr Dukes also said on the documentary: "And I'm not saying they're any different to any of the rest of us, but whether it's they have Provo links or B Special links or whatever, it's something that's nearer to the way they think than it would be for somebody from South Tipperary or anywhere else."

However, speaking this morning on RTÉ radio, Mr Dukes said his comments were not well phrased.

"I shouldn't have said it in the way that I said," he told the Today with Claire Byrne. "What I meant to convey was that the protests that were there and the emotion that was there, were seized upon by people who are violent and who carried out acts of sabotage and despicable personal violence against people. And I deplore that."

Deputy Brendan Smith said the comments were outrageous and completely dismissive of the overwhelming majority of decent people in counties Cavan and Monaghan and the wider border region who abhor violence of any kind and stood against it over decades.

“I am, like many others in the Cavan-Monaghan region, outraged by the ill-informed comments made by Mr. Dukes," said Deputy Brendan Smith. "What he said last night is the very definition of tarring everyone with the same brush. To say that border people turn to violence more easily than anyone else is an atrocious comment to make.

“Those of us living in border communities were also victims of violence throughout the Troubles. Our communities have been victims of intimidation and threatening behaviour from a small minority of criminals.

“I’ve spoken many times of the devastation of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, of those left behind following the Belturbet bombing. I’ve stood with thousands of people along the border as they peacefully protested against violence throughout the Troubles and more recently as they seek answers.”

Deputy Brendan Smith said the fact that Mr. Dukes was a longstanding TD, former Minister, a former Leader of the Opposition as well as a well-respected man throughout this country meant that his comments were all the more incendiary. He called on Mr Dukes to immediately make a full statement retracting his comments.