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Joan Burton is pursued by water protesters at an event in Coolock earlier this month. Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland
keen photographer
Joan Burton is, in fact, "delighted" that people have expensive phones and cameras
The Social Protection minister caused controversy last week with comments about ‘expensive phones and cameras’.
YOU MAY RECALL Tánaiste Joan Burton causing some controversy last week with her comments about water protesters.
Speaking in the Dáil, Burton noted that “all of the protesters I’ve seen seem to have extremely expensive phones, tablets [and] video cameras”.
Her comments followed angry scenes in a confrontation between gardaí and demonstrators in Dublin’s Clare Hall estate, and Burton was making a wider point about activists constantly filming Irish Water workers and gardaí during protests.
She noted that a “core part” of the campaign of protest was to “video every single second”.
Watch (comments of note at 8 min mark)…
This morning, the Social Protection Minister was in the Newstalk studios for a post-Budget interview with Pat Kenny.
Facing a question on the issue, she told the host that she was in fact “delighted” that people have phones and cameras to use..
She added that she only noticed their devices as she’s a “keen photographer” herself.
So… That settles that.
Originally posted 10.35pm
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