The Fianna Fáil Senator who is facing calls to resign over derogatory tweets has said that she doesn’t know if more derogatory comments made on Twitter or other social media platforms may emerge.

“I don’t know is the straight answer, because obviously this was a long time ago before I was engaged in electoral politics,” said Senator and by-election candidate Lorraine Clifford-Lee.

“I am very, very sorry for things I might have said back then,” she said on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland.

Ms Clifford-Lee has apologised for using the words ‘pikey’ and ‘knacker’ in several derogatory tweets from 2011, along with other posts about Kim Kardashian having a “fat arse”, one referring to a “black, Brazilian dwarf with ginger hair”, and one about a nightclub being a “slut’s venue”.

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The Senator has since deleted all of the tweets on her Twitter account.

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She apologised again this morning.

“What happened back then was totally wrong and inappropriate and I am truly sorry for offending people,” she said.

“I am truly sorry for the offence I have caused. I think sometimes we say things when we don’t understand the impact of the words that we use.”

The Fianna Fáil Senator who had initially faced calls to resign over the derogatory tweets is due to meet Pavee Point campaigner Martin Collins this morning.

“I am going to re-issue that apology to him in person and I truly hope my apology is accepted.

“It’s from the bottom of my heart and it’s very heartfelt and I hope to engage in constructive dialogue with martin and his colleagues,” she added.

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Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has backed Ms Clifford-Lee in her apology.

The Senator said: “It was a long time ago and we all evolve as people and now I am a mother.”

“People make mistakes and it’s the recognition of those mistakes and how you act,” she added.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said he believes that the senator needs to make a Seanad statement.

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