Michael Healy-Rae has insisted that he has "nothing to apologise for" after facing criticism of his "airy fairy" comment to Tanaiste Leo Vardakar in the Dail on Tuesday.
At the end of Leaders Questions, where the Tanaiste was in place of the isolating Michael Martin, there was a fiery exchange between the pair, where the Kerry TD accused Mr Varadkar of being 'with the airy fairies'.
And speaking on Liveline yesterday, Mr Healy-Rae defended his comments, saying that he uses the phrase "airy fairy" a lot in the Dail.
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He said: "I can't apologise because I've nothing to apologise for.
"Iif anyone checks my name in the Dail the word 'airy fairy' is a term I use an awful lot."
When told that his use of the term was used four times previously in the Dail, Mr Healy-Rae said: "Anytime I've ever used it I've used it to describe something that I would consider to be nonsensical."
Mr Healy-Rae said that he "would never set out to offend or upset anybody", and that the row in the Dail was over the Tanaiste not answering a question on energy security.
Mr Healy Rae said: "What happened yesterday was the Tanaiste found himself in a predicament in that I was raising the fact that the state organised a review of all energy security, it was organised under Richard Bruton.
"His report came out and what it said was that we should have an energy facility in Ireland, a non-commercial energy facility.
"And the Tanaiste has continuously said he's opposed this, a number of Fine Gael TDs and councillors which is great said they'll support it but they're at odds with their own leader."
Mr Healy-Rae said that he was "100% a supporter of gay rights" and that as a TD he deals with people from all walks of life.
He said: "Anything I was ever asked to partake in or assist in I would have always done that, and like I say for anybody to be trying to twist what was a perfectly straight-forward debate within the Dail chamber into something it is not is wrong and unfair."
"I have many friends who are gay, I have absolutely no interest in a man or a woman's private business their private lives it is none of my business as it is none of anybody else's business."
Mr Healy-Rae said he "welcomed" Mr Varadkar's coming out as gay in 2015.
He added: "Of course I would wish him nothing but health and happiness in his personal business, but for anyone taking what I said yesterday as trying to offend the Tanaiste was never my intention."
And speaking to reporters on Wednesday morning, Mr Varadkar added: “All of us from time to time say things that might be racist, homophobic, misogynistic or misandrist.
"We should call it out. I’m not losing sleep over it."
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