Former Fine Gael by-election candidate Verona Murphy has criticised the party, after Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he was glad she did not get elected as a TD.
She has accused the Government of using the "race card" to detract from the fact it is "failing rural Ireland".
Ms Murphy was de-selected as a general election candidate after comments in which she said asylum seekers may need to be de-programmed.
Speaking in Dublin earlier, Mr Varadkar said he did not regret the decision to remove her.
"Quite frankly I'm glad she didn't get elected.
"What we have seen in her recent interviews is that she, unfortunately, does harbour these views towards migrants.
"We heard the comment about Wexford Bridge and London Bridge - that is raising the spectre that migration may result in terrorist attacks in Ireland.
"That's just not factual", he said.
He added: "Had she been elected I think she would have been emboldened, I think we would have heard more of that - but it would have been coming from a TD.
"And I think she wouldn't have lasted long in Fine Gael for those reasons.
"Clearly these are views she holds and they're not views that are acceptable to the party that I lead".
In s statement on Friday, Ms Murphy said: "It is a sad day, when the full might of the Fine Gael Party has today sought to portray common sense security issues raised by me as racist remarks.
"The continued and sustained attacks on somebody who is in their eyes a racist is puzzling? Why would they bother? What are they concerned about?
"The plain fact of the matter is; it is this Fine Gael urban centric government that are using the race card to detract from the fact that it is failing rural Ireland.
"All the name calling and abuse hurled in my direction will not conceal this reality."
She added: "Should I stand in the next general election?
"The people of Wexford are intelligent enough to form their own views, and all this unwarranted and unnecessary attention will be seen for what it is".
On Thursday Ms Murphy also hit out at Health Minister Simon Harris, branding him as "one of the worst Ministers for Health".
"He'll probably go down in history deflecting from his own ineptitude", she told The Hard Shoulder.
Additional reporting: Sean Defoe
