![\"\"](\"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/2.39265193.jpg\")
President Michael D Higgins has said he shares the concerns of Leo Varadkar that there is a risk of a return to violence if a hard border is imposed post-Brexit.<\/p>\nPresident Michael D Higgins has said he shares the concerns of Leo Varadkar that there is a risk of a return to violence if a hard border is imposed post-Brexit.<\/p>\n
Mr Higgins said: \u201cI do share the Taoiseach\u2019s concern.\u201d<\/p>\n
The presidential candidate, who is running for a second term in office, added: \u201cWhen there was a hard border in place it encouraged an extraordinary level of violence and killings.<\/p>\n
\u201cI agree with the Taoiseach \u2026 it is a risk that we should not take.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Varadkar warned last week there was a \u201creal risk\u201d of a return to violence in Ireland if a hard border was re-instated.<\/p>\n
His comments drew considerable criticism from the Democratic Unionist Party\u2019s Sammy Wilson who branded Mr Varadkar \u201cvile\u201d and accused him of using terrorist victims to scaremonger over Brexit.<\/p>\n
Mr Higgins said whatever the outcome of the Brexit discussions between the United Kingdom and the EU, people in Ireland would always have to work for peace.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe agreement is not something on paper, the peace must exist in the minds of people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve a long way to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that the communities were \u201cstill too divided\u201d.<\/p>\n
In an interview with the Press Association, Mr Higgins also dismissed attacks made by Sinn F\u00e9in candidate Liadh N\u00ed Riada about his presidential expenses as \u201coutrageous\u201d.<\/p>\n
Ms N\u00ed Riada wrote to Mr Higgins\u2019 campaign office on Monday over his use of public money and asked him to explain reports that asserted Mr Higgins has been \u201cusing the OPW (Office of Public Works) to maintain the garden and grounds\u201d of his private residence in Galway.<\/p>\n
Mr Higgins said: \u201cI have asked the Office of Public Works to do nothing in my house in Galway. The only works that have been carried out have been at the requests of An Garda Siochana and the OPW has fulfilled the Garda Siochana\u2019s request.\u201d<\/p>\n
He continued: \u201cThe suggestion that there was anything either requested by me, or by my wife or my family, for the enhancement of our (residence), is simply an outrageous untruth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Higgins and his wife Sabina live in \u00c1ras an Uachtarain in Dublin, whereas the Galway house is their former family home.<\/p>\n
The president said the works carried out in the Galway property included the construction of a Garda hut, some stone flags to enable the hut \u201cto be accessed in bad weather\u201d and the cutting of some branches for CCTV cameras.<\/p>\n
The presidential hopeful also said the other candidates\u2019 queries about his expenses \u201cshouldn\u2019t be used as a substitute for the absence of a platform\u201d.<\/p>\n
Elected in 2011, Mr Higgins said he had put his own stamp on the presidency, as his predecessors had done before him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am someone who came out of poverty with no prospects of education and became a university teacher and then left the university to take my stand on particular public issues,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said he knew what was achievable within the confines of the Irish Constitution and he had never promised any initiative that was not achievable.<\/p>\n
Asked about the other candidates\u2019 campaign promises, he replied: \u201cI think some of what has been proposed would be difficult to fit within even a stretched role of the president.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cWhat people will vote for on Friday is my record and my probity as a public representative for so long and in so many different offices.\u201d<\/p>\n