THE statue of an IRA man who was a Nazi collaborator might have to be removed from a Dublin park, the Taoiseach claimed yesterday.
Leo Varadkar said a monument to Sean Russell, a senior republican who plotted with Hitler’s regime in World War II, may need to be removed.
He told RTE 2FM: “We have a few of our own statues we may need to take down.
“There is a statue in Fairview Park in Dublin of an Irish republican man who was also a Nazi collaborator... I think any statues that come down should come down legally... let’s not engage in violence.”
Mr Varadkar, whose father was Indian, said he has experienced racism.
He added: “It is not something I speak about too much but it has not held me back - it has probably pushed me on.
“I have had a lot of privileges that have helped to counteract that.”
“It does worry me that young people of colour who grew up in Ireland are being treated as though they are not fully Irish.”
Asked if Ireland has a racism problem, the Taoiseach said: “I think we do. Every country in the world has racism to some degree.
“Thankfully we do not have the kind of problems with police brutality that we see in the United States. We have very professional police and we’re grateful for that.
“If you look at the Traveller community and how they are treated and spoke about - that’s a form of racism.
“Anyone who grew up in Ireland mixed race like me would be aware of the fact that when you look and sound different - people treat you differently and it is not nice.”
Mr Varadkar said the Black Lives Matter Movement is similar to the Me Too campaign.
He added: “People are no longer ashamed to talk about their experience of racism and to shame the racists and it is almost like a switch has gone on for a lot of people.”
The Taoiseach said Ireland needs new laws around hate speech.
Mr Varadkar added: “It is not easy to do as you don’t want to shut down freedom of speech but we need an anti-racism campaign and to raise awareness about it.”
