Accused of demonising border communities, former justice Minister Alan Dukes apologised unreservedly on this morning's Joe Finnegan Show for the comments he made during the Sean Quinn documentary in Wednesday night.
He said he understands the reason for the offence caused and "deeply regrets" it.
The former chairman of IRBC told Shannonside Northern Sound that the remarks were made in the context of the difficulties that emerged with Quinn Industry Group and its relationship with Anglo Irish Bank and then later with IRBC
He added that the situation was very fraught at the time and people were very worried about the fallout from banking leading.
Mr Dukes pointed out that everyone was under pressure by the Government to recoup the money that had been lost and he could see where the problems were with the Quinn Group in relation to all of that.
He said the group had been financially mismanaged and the assets within the firms were being gambled away. Mr Dukes highlighted how everything that could be done to maintain the economic viability of the group was done and there were a lot of people locally that didn't like the way it was done because of a "particular loyalty".
We wanted to ensure that the control of the group was in the hands of people who were not going to gamble it away again. It wasn't a hostile move, it was a move that was clearly aimed at protecting the future viability of the group.
Meanwhile, Cavan Monaghan Minister for Justice, Heather Humphreys says Mr Dukes' apology has drawn a line in the sand on the issue.
She said she was offended by the remarks herself but the matter was finished with now.
