PETER Casey has said he “believes Travellers shouldn’t be given special status.”

The presidential candidate doesn’t think they should be recognised as an ethnic minority as they’re “basically people that are camping on somebody else’s land”.

Peter Casey's comments have been slammed by Traveller groups

Speaking on Independent.ie’s podcast The Floating Voter, he said: “Why should they be given status over an above yourself or myself?”

“That’s a load of nonsense. They are not from Romany or whatever.

“They’re basically people that are camping on somebody else’s land. The poor farmer whose land that they camped on, you know, who’ll buy the land of him?

“The neighbours in the houses around, do you think they are sitting here going this is great for my property value now that I’ve got three dozen caravans down the road? That’s just wrong.”

Peter Casey is one of six candidates in the Aras race

He added: “Somebody needs to sit up and say this is nonsense. Here we are are giving them luxurious houses and they’re turning them down because they’ve no stables.”

“Can you imagine the brave person in Dublin that would say, ‘I’d love a lovely four-bedroom house with solar panels and beautifully kitted-out kitchens’?”

Traveller group Pavee Point has said his comments are “informed and grossly insulting and offensive”.

Co Director Martin Collins told the paper: “These comments put his presidential campaign on the same level as a local election where people play the nimby card to gain votes, as we have seen so often in the past.

“This potentially can feed into racist stereotypes and it is both reckless and irresponsible and certainly not befitting anyone standing to be President for all the people of Ireland.”

Michael D Higgins looks set to be re-elected as he scooped 66 per cent of the vote in the latest opinion poll.

In the Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI survey, Sean Gallagher is in second place with 12 per cent, Liadh Ni Riada (11 per cent), Joan Freeman (5 per cent), Gavin Duffy (4 per cent) and Peter Casey 2 per cent.