Venezuelans queue to receive Red Cross water purification supplies in Caracas, after President Maduro came to an agreement with the agency last week

Independent TD Clare Daly has angered Venezuelans living in Ireland by claiming there is plenty of food in their native country, and no humanitarian crisis there. The claims were made by Daly on a YouTube broadcast.

“It’s like being punched in the stomach, watching that. I’ll be honest, I had to stand up and take a break halfway through,” said Luis Alvarez, 33, a representative from the Venezuelan community in Ireland.

“I found it difficult to listen to. People are hungry, fleeing the country out of desperation and she is saying there is no big problem with food,” said Alvarez, who left Venezuela five years ago.

Unable to find work as a mechanical engineer, he now works in the coffee industry in Dublin. “Last month