LAST UPDATE | 6 hrs ago

INDEPENDENT TD MICHAEL Lowry has described the two fingers he raised in the Dáil yesterday as “an errant gesture” and said it was not meant to cause offence. 

In a statement released this afternoon, Lowry said his gesture “was not made with malicious intent”, describing it as “an errant gesture under provocation”.

“Unfortunately, the gesture has been taken out of context. Unlike others, I have always respected the rules and values of the Dail,” the government-supporting TD said.

“My gesture was not intended to be offensive or to cause any offence, and I regret that it may have been seen in such a way.”

During a heated exchange with Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald today, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that “anybody who uses two fingers in this house to another person is wrong, and that person should apologise, and that would apply to Deputy Lowry”. 

He also said that people “waving cameras in the face of other deputies is wrong”. 

Yesterday, Lowry was filmed in the Dáil by People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy.

Asked if he intends to apologise for using a camera inside the Dáil chambers, which is against the Standing Orders, or rules of the House, Murphy told The Journal: 

“I make no apology for letting people know what is going on in the Dáil. I think the public has a right to know what Michael Lowry thinks of them and our parliamentary process.”

Virgin Media News correspondent Gavan Reilly took a now infamous screenshot of Lowry making the gesture while sitting inside the chamber.

It came following the passing of a motion to create a new speaking slot for government backbenchers and a group of independents.

A number of opposition politicians have accused Lowry of “giving two fingers to the Irish people” in posts shared on social media. Lowry maintained yesterday when contacted by The Journal that he was not giving Murphy two fingers, and instead “was telling him to sit down”.

But that one screenshot dominated the front pages of newspapers around the country this morning. 

With reporting by Christina Finn