Former taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that he went too far and overstated his case in comments he made about rural Ireland last week.
On the Path to Power podcast, hosted by Matt Cooper, Mr Varadkar had said that people in urban areas were paying more tax while those in rural Ireland were "in receipt of a lot of subsidies and a lot of tax benefits that other people don't get".
He added: "What's in the interest of farmers and the agriculture industry is by and large not in the interest of Ireland as a nation."
Today, Mr Varadkar said he had not set out to be divisive or to offend anyone, and he apologised for that.
He said that he broke his own rule of not commenting on hot political issues when doing live programmes.
However, he said that he had made some valid points which he stands over, and pointed out that the vast majority of tax is paid in urban Ireland and 80% of food is now imported into this country.
A Fine Gael TD welcomed Mr Varadkar's apology but said he believes the former taoiseach had let the party down.
Tipperary South TD Michael Murphy said people in his constituency were infuriated by the comments.
He said they came at a time when politicians should have been trying to cool the temperature.
At the meeting of the Fine Gael parliamentary party tonight, Tánasite Simon Harris insisted his party had always stood up for rural Ireland.
Mr Harris said it had established the Department of Rural Affairs and ensured unprecedented investment into rural communities.
The Tánaiste told TDs and Senators that he has never believed in dividing people by where they live or the job they do.
Whether someone lives in rural Ireland or urban Ireland, he told the meeting, whether they are a farmer, self-employed, or an employee, what matters are their values and their contributions.
