The Taoiseach and Tánaiste have declined to comment on Leo Varadkar’s outspoken criticism of Ed Walsh, US Ambassador to Ireland, for visiting MMA fighter Conor McGregor’s pub in Dublin. Varadkar said he recoiled when he saw a report and pictures of Walsh’s visit to the Black Forge pub in Drimnagh.“I’m not easily shocked. I think the Rape Crisis Centre really spoke for me, and I think it spoke for a lot of people in the country (on this issue),” the former taoiseach said on a recent edition of the Path to Power podcast with Matt Cooper. “What messages does this send out to women? What messages does it send out to victims of rape and sexual assault? And I think it was a big, big mistake on his part.” Asked for their response to Varadkar’s criticisms of Walsh, Micheál Martin and Simon Harris both declined to comment on Walsh’s visit. For his part, Harris reiterated his own view about McGregor.“He represents the very worst of us. He is, in my view, vile in how he conducts himself.”He said decisions regarding the actions of the US ambassador were a matter for the United States.“What the United States of America decides to do, and its representative here in Ireland, is a matter for the United States of America,” he said, adding that he had already made his position on McGregor clear, including following the fighter’s visit to US president Donald Trump at the White House.Martin similarly declined to criticise the ambassador, saying he did not know the circumstances surrounding the visit.“I’m not going to comment on everything that Leo says,” the Taoiseach said, adding that Varadkar “does make valid comments on many issues” and welcomed his contribution to public debate, noting his experience in government.“But again, I don’t know the context for the ambassador’s visit, and I’m not going to be marking the ambassador’s card and saying dos and don’ts on an ongoing basis,” Martin said.“I’ve had a good relationship with the ambassador. He’s working well in terms of enhancing the relationship between Ireland and the United States, and that’s important.”Appearing as a guest on the Path to Power podcast, Varadkar said Walsh should apologise for visiting the pub.“[Walsh should] admit it was an error of judgment and that he should not have attended that establishment and posed for photographs and behaved the way he did.” A spokesman for the ambassador said he would not be commenting.Varadkar told host Matt Cooper that Walsh should invite Nikita Hand, the victim of McGregor’s assault, to his residence in Deerfield in the Phoenix Park. A High Court civil jury found McGregor assaulted Hand in Dublin’s Beacon Hotel on December 9th, 2018. “In that way he can undo the damage that he has done,” Varadkar said. Separately, Martin expressed concern about rising tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, warning that continued instability would have significant consequences for the global economy.“The uncertainty is very worrying,” he said, pointing to the potential impact on international trade and energy costs.Martin said attempts by Iran to control the Strait of Hormuz were “not acceptable” and described attacks on shipping as “a clear violation of the ceasefire.”“We cannot contemplate ... powers or entities saying we control a particular strait because that would be very injurious to global trade,” he said.Martin and Harris were in Leixlip, Co Kildare, where Intel announced a €5 billion investment in new semiconductor technology.