Michael Healy-Rae has said he is "profoundly sorry" for his support of former FAI CEO John Delaney at an Oireachtas Committee hearing in 2019.
In April 2019, the Independent TD told Mr Delaney that he would receive "the mother of all welcomes" on his next visit to Co Kerry.
Mr Healy-Rae received criticism from fellow politicans for his comments at the Oireachtas hearing, which looked at financial issues in the Football Association of Ireland.
Commenting following an RTÉ documentary last night which looked at the scandal surrounding Mr Delaney's departure from the FAI, Mr Healy-Rae said he was unaware of the association's financial problems at the time of the Oireachtas hearing.
He told Radio Kerry: “The accountants that were working for the FAI at that time, they say that they didn’t know what was going on within the FAI hierarchy at that time. Saying the thing that I said...looking back now...was wrong.
“The reason I would have said it at the time was because I thought I was right. If anything that I said offended anybody, or insulted anybody I am profoundly sorry.”
