The Laois Offaly Deputy came under fire for comments he made in the Dáil.
A midlands Fianna Fail TD says he never meant to offend anyone when he compared keeping the eviction ban to making sweets free for children.
Laois Offaly TD Barry Cowen made the comments after the government survived a confidence motion in the Dáil brought over the decision to lift the ban this week.
He says he used the analogy to prove that the extension of the ban was just a stop gap instead of a concrete measure:
The Social Protection Minister has defended the Fianna Fáil TD over his comments on the evictions ban.
Minister Heather Humphreys says Deputy Cowen is a 'very good colleague:'
The Taoiseach meanwhile has said Mr. Cowen chose a poor analogy yesterday.
But Leo Varadkar overall stood by the coalition TD's remarks in the chamber: