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Mr Varadkar ran into trouble while talking to Pat Kenny, a presenter on the Newstalk radio station, during a discussion about international membership of his Fine Gael party. He said:
"We don't have a lot of overseas members. "We do have some overseas members though. "We have members in Belfast for example." Emma Sheerin, a member of the Northern
Ireland Assembly for mid-Ulster, said: "The Taoiseach has again demonstrated that he is increasingly out of touch with people north and south at a time when people on the ground are
struggling with the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis. "His comments are bizarre and insulting to the nationalists in the north he pledged never to leave behind again and he should
unreservedly withdraw them." In a statement issued in response to the criticism, Mr Varadkar said: "My sincere apologies to anyone I offended. "I have crossed the land border
dozens of times in my efforts to prevent a hard border and to bring both jurisdictions closer together. READ MORE: CORONAVIRUS CONFUSION: SLOGAN BAFFLES MORE THAN TWO-THIRDS OF BRITONS
"Some find that offensive too and it is geographically incorrect, especially if you consider the location of Donegal." In a further sign of tension, Michelle O'Neill, Northern
Ireland's deputy First Minister and Sinn Fein's vice-president, subsequently accused Ireland's Taoiseach of "paying lip service" to a pledge to share information
about Dublin's coronavirus strategy, while accusing him of adopting an opportunistic approach as he tries to forge a coalition government which would keep him in power. She told the
Irish News: "We held a general meeting the day before about the lifting of measures. "We had a discussion around the fact we needed to work together in terms of the exit strategy
and how the disease could spread across the island - and therefore the need for that joined-up approach. "As I said previously, I was disappointed that they didn't take the time to
share information with us because it would have been helpful in terms of our own deliberations." Ms O'Neill said: "If we're going to be joined up then it needs to be
more than lip service. "I suppose the challenge at the moment is that Leo Varadkar and co are trying to form a government to the exclusion of Sinn Fein and are perhaps being
opportunistic in the middle of what is a very serious crisis to try and feather their own nests in terms of getting themselves into government." A Memorandum of Understanding signed
last month between the health departments on either side of the border expressed a "mutual willingness to promote cooperation and collaboration" in tackling the pandemic. Because
the virus did not "respect borders", there was "a compelling case" for co-operation including information-sharing and, where appropriate, a "common approach to
action in both jurisdictions".