Tanaiste Leo Varadkar has been blasted by one of his former colleagues after attending the Mighty Hoopla Festival in London over the weekend.
The Fine Gael leader was snapped sitting on the grass at the gig, during the same weekend that Electric Picnic was supposed to take place.
Ex Fine Gael TD for Dublin Bay South Kate O'Connell blasted the Tainiste's attendance, labelling him as "tone deaf".
Speaking on the Brendan O'Connor show on RTE Radio One on Sunday, O'Connell said: "I do think that the pictures, to my mind, show a serious lack of self-awareness.
"I think the week that’s in it and I think if you’re a policymaker making decisions that are affecting all of our lives, and then you leave the country within which you make those decisions for to have your jolly elsewhere, I think it’s jarring.
“I think it was completely tone-deaf.
“It just doesn’t really correlate with what people are feeling or the way people are living right now in Ireland.”
A spokesperson for Varadkar has said: "The Tanaiste is a strong supporter of the Irish events industry and nearly €100m has been provided to the entertainment sector during the pandemic.”
Get the latest breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our free newsletter
