A spokesman for Enda Kenny has said the Fine Gael leader condemns the killing of John Ward by Mayo farmer Pádraig Nally, after Mr Kenny said neither he nor his party could support the view that the killing was justified.
In a statement yesterday Mr Kenny said he had spoken to his party whip Paul Kehoe after the Wexford TD said Nally had been right to shoot Ward dead. "I have called in Deputy Kehoe and spoken to him."
Mr Kehoe told a public meeting in Bunclody last Thursday: "Let me say he [Nally] was a victim and if I was Pádraig Nally I think I would have done exactly the very same thing as well."
In the statement, Mr Kenny said: "He has expressed deep regret over his remarks. Deputy Kehoe has assured me that he does not condone the killing of John Ward."
Mr Kenny has faced some media criticism after he responded to the killing of Mr Ward by calling for a "rebalancing" of the law in favour of homeowners confronting an intruder.
He said this week that in circumstances where the homeowner ended up injuring the intruder, "the law - on a number of levels - is currently biased against the homeowner, and in favour of the criminal".
In yesterday's statement Mr Kenny restated his belief that the law dealing with homeowners facing an intruder in their homes needed to be examined with a view to providing greater protection to the homeowner.
However, in relation to Mr Kehoe's remarks, he said neither he or nor Fine Gael could support the view that Mr Ward's killing was justified. Asked if this meant that he condemned the killing, a spokesman for Mr Kenny said on his behalf that it did.