Galway Bay fm newsroom - For the second time in recent months, Galway West Deputy Noel Grealish is under pressure from senior Government Ministers - this time over comments made about money being transfered to familes and friends abroad.
It's after Deputy Grealish presented figures claiming €3.6bn was sent from Ireland to Nigeria in personal remittances over the past 8 years.
Deputy Grealish called for stricter measures on such transfers and questioned if some of the cash could be the proceeds of crime.
His figures also allege that the UK received €2.7bn, while a further €1.5bn was sent to Poland during that time.
He was branded a racist by some fellow TDs in the Dáil, while the Immigrant Council of Ireland has described his comments as "shameful."
It follows long-running controversy over Deputy Grealish's comments about African asylum seekers at a public meeting held in Oughterard in September.
Now, for the second time in recent months, Deputy Grealish is under increasing pressure to clarify the intention behind his statements.
Health Minister Simon Harris says the comments made by Deputy Grealish last evening in the Dail are "reprehensible".
While his cabinet colleague, Finance Minister Pascal Donohue, says the figures put forward by Deputy Grealish are significantly over-stated.
Meanwhile, Fine Gael Councillor for Navan and Gogglebox star Yemi Adenuga moved to Ireland from Nigeria.
She says while the question on remittances to other countries is legitimate, it's unfair to single out one nationality.
