The runner-up in the recent presidential election, Peter Casey, has said he was "shocked" at his treatment during an interview on RTÉ's The Late Late Show last Friday.
Mr Casey had appeared to take issue with questioning during the broadcast from two members of the Travelling community who were in the studio audience.
Mr Casey, a businessman born in Derry, went from obscurity in early opinion polls to runner-up in the election.
The candidate rose to prominence during the campaign following controversial comments he made about Travellers, stating that they were “basically people camping in someone else’s land” who were not paying their “fair share” of taxes.
Mr Casey doubled down on his remarks during his interview on RTÉ’s The Late Late Show, when he said the community should “absolutely not” be recognised as an ethnic minority.
Last year the Travelling community was officially recognised as an ethnic minority.
Mr Casey was then challenged by two audience members from the Travelling community over his views during the interview.
Mr Casey asked host Ryan Tubridy if the presenter had "lost control" of the discussion. In response, Mr Tubridy said: "I have absolutely not Peter, and if I do you'll know about it."
‘Shocked’
Speaking on Monday about the RTÉ interview, on Classic Hits 4FM's The Niall Boylan Show, Mr Casey said he was "shocked" at how he was treated.
He was critical of Mr Tubridy, who he said was “insulting” during the broadcast. He said Mr Tubridy was “so unprofessional [in] how he behaved and so patronising throughout”.
The former Dragons’ Den investor said: “I was surprised and taken aback; it shocked me to be quite honest. I really felt he [Mr Tubridy] was supposed to be impartial, he was supposed to be professional.”
A spokeswoman for RTÉ said the national broadcaster had no comment to make on Mr Casey’s statements.
President Michael D Higgins was re-elected for a second term in the election on October 26th, winning 56 per cent of the vote, the largest number of votes ever for a candidate in a presidential election. Mr Casey secured 23 per cent of the vote, with Seán Gallagher a distant third on just in excess of 6 per cent.
