A SINN Féin TD has apologised “unreservedly and wholeheartedly” to those offended by a number of tweets where she used offensive language, questioned the fluoridation of the public water supply and linked Israel to Nazism.

Réada Cronin, a newly-elected TD for Kildare North, posted a series of tweets between 2012 and 2015, which emerged on Tuesday, where she used words like “b*tch” and “wh*re” to describe other people.

The Irish news website Gript, which launched last year with funding from the anti-abortion lobby, also reported on a number of Ms Cronin’s tweets in 2014, the year she was elected as a councillor, where she said Israel “have taken Nazism to a new level” and responded to a picture of monkeys at computers by suggesting it was the Israeli embassy.

In 2012 and 2013, before she was elected as a councillor, Ms Cronin tweeted about the use of fluoride in water saying it has “made us docile” and was “poisoning our water”.

In response to queries from Independent.ie on Tuesday, Ms Cronin said in a statement: "Some old tweets, most from before joining Sinn Féin and entering politics, have come to my attention.

"I apologise unreservedly and wholeheartedly to people I have offended because of these glib, off the cuff tweets that I sent in the past. I never intended to cause hurt or distress to anyone.

"I will assist and work with everybody, without qualification. I abhor racism and bigotry of any shade. My character and my politics are Republican and egalitarian.

"As a public representative, I am elected to deal with the issues my constituents have raised with me and also the national issues of homelessness, housing, health, childcare and the myriad of issues that have been raised with me. I am committed to this work."

Online Editors