Minister Leo Varadkar has said that Irish politicians will have no choice but to meet with Donald Trump if he gets elected as US President.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has called some of Trump’s campaign remarks “dangerous and racist” – while Minister Varadkar said the presumptive Republican nominee’s comments on the Orlando shooting were “crass and tasteless”.

However Social Protection Minister Varadkar said they have to deal with world leaders who have done worse, citing the government’s interaction with Egyptian officials over Ibrahim Halawa’s imprisonment.

Minister Varadkar said they may have no choice but to welcome Trump to Ireland in the future.

“If somebody is the elected leader of another country, it is the norm that politicians would meet them,” he said.

“There are lots of elected and non-elected leaders from all over the world that have done much worse than Donald Trump has ever said, and we do meet them, because we have to.

“That’s the way we make sure we protect the interests of our citizens.”