A Fine Gael Senator has received a voicemail which said Irish politicians should “forget about Ukraine and let them die.”
Senator Ward shared the voicemail on social media and a woman can be heard saying “Forget about Ukraine, let them die. It’s not our problem.
“You’re voted in to look after the Irish.”
Senator Ward said the voicemail “stopped him in his tracks” and it was an “extraordinary” thing to receive.
Senator Ward recently travelled to Ukraine to show his solidarity with Ukraine.
He said: “That’s just part of what all TDs and Senators get.
"We get abusive messages from time to time but the thing that struck me about that is just how ignorant it is.
“And the notion that we shouldn’t be opening our doors to Ukrainians and the notion that you can’t pursue other issues at the same time.
“I’m very proud of how Irish people have reacted to helping Ukrainians and that’s why so many people have opened their doors to Ukrainian refugees.
“Schools and communities have opened their doors and are helping people in any way that they can so I think she’s massively out of step.
“But the ignorance of the comment was really quite striking.”
He said this attitude and behaviour has to be called out “because if we don’t call it out then there are some people who think this is acceptable and it isn’t.”
Get breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter
