President Michael D Higgins has apologised to Professor Louise Richardson for a "throwaway remark" he made which was published in a newspaper report yesterday.
He referred to the chair of the upcoming Consultative Forum on International Security Policy, Prof Richardson, as a person "with a very large DBE - Dame of the British Empire", adding that it was grand but he could have come up with a few speakers himself.
This afternoon, a statement from the President's office said he intended "no offence by such a casual remark".
"He apologises for any offence which he may have inadvertently caused to Professor Richardson by what was a throwaway remark," the statement added.
"As a political scientist and sociologist, the President is familiar with Professor Richardson's work. He has too, with others, an appreciation for the initiatives for which Professor Richardson was awarded her DBE, in attracting more undergraduates from non-traditional or deprived backgrounds to Oxford University."
Government sources have insisted that there is no prospect of Ms Richardson not continuing as chairperson of the forum.
The President yesterday also warned about moving away from Ireland's traditional policy of "positive neutrality".
In an interview with the Business Post, President Higgins highlighted the composition of the panels at the forum, saying they include "the admirals, the generals, the air force, the rest of it" as well as "the formerly neutral countries who are now joining NATO".
'Respectful debate'
The Independent TD and former member of the Defence Forces, Cathal Berry, said there should be a "respectful debate" about Ireland's neutrality.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland today, Mr Berry said President Higgins polarised the debate at the weekend and made some personalised comments about Ms Richardson that were not appropriate.
Read more: President's neutrality comments cause major ripples
Mr Berry said there are no admirals or air force personnel on the Consultative Forum on International Security that will meet this week.
There is a full list of panelists available on gov.ie, he said, and they include NGOs, civil servants, academics and journalists.
There are five Irish generals who have dedicated their lives to UN peacekeeping, he said.
"There are five Irish generals. So these are three retired gentlemen and two serving generals.
"And these are five individuals who dedicated their lives to UN peacekeeping all over the world and they shouldn't be misrepresented as though they're some kind of warmongering imperialists.
"They're doing the activities precisely that President Higgins claims to be supporting."
Ireland 'not joining NATO'
The Taoiseach has said Ireland is not going to join NATO, adding that it is very clear the country is going to continue with military neutrality.
Leo Varadkar was speaking at the News Xchange conference in Dublin which is discussing the future of news media.
In response to a question about military neutrality, he said the forum has been established to have an in-depth conversation about the policy. He said the world has changed and it is an evolving situation, but maintaining neutrality is the policy of the Government.
Richard Boyd Barrett, People Before Profit TD, said the forum is a heavily biased one that is dominated by people with pro-NATO or pro-EU militarisation views.
He said the chair of the forum has legitimate views but that her views, supporting US foreign policy, are on record.
Read more: Just what can the President of Ireland actually say and do?
He described the forum as a "stitch up" and said the debate should be a balanced one.
"The forum is absolutely dominated by people who've worked in the military, have associations with NATO or have a record of arguing for Ireland to move away from neutrality or towards NATO or into the project of EU militarisation."
Mr Boyd Barrett said the Government has been moving closer to the NATO military alliance by stealth.
He said the forum does not have balanced representation.
"I am the President of the Anti War Movement," he said, and "we were not informed about the forum by the Government".
He acknowledged that the Anti War Movement still has time to make a submission and said "we probably will".
However, he added, the "whole thing has been stacked in advance".
He said the public forums are all booked out.
"Why aren't the people who have known record of campaigning against militarism, campaigning for neutrality, why are they not equally represented on the panels?"
Additional reporting Mícheál Lehane
