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Acknowledging mistakes and apologizing for them, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar survived an interrogation of Dáil by opposition TDs last night for his leak of a new GP contract in 2019.
Mr. Varadkar was subjected to pressure at times during a two-hour question-and-answer session when he was questioned by opposition parties about transmitting the document to his friend, Dr. Maitiú Ó Tuathail.
Dr. Ó Tuathail was then head of a group of GPs created to rival the Irish Medical Organization (IMO), with which the then government had negotiated the new contract.
Mr. Varadkar repeatedly tried to distance himself from Dr. Ó Tuathail during the course of Dáil’s session. He said he was “a friend, not a close friend” and that he had sent the contract to Dr. Ó Tuathail because of his position with the National Association of General Practitioners (NAGP), not because he was a friend.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar speaks at the Dáil on Tuesday afternoon. Screenshot: Oireachtas TV
He said that “sometimes people like to exaggerate the nature of their relationships, inflate their own influence, or pretend to speak for a person when they don’t.”
Political criticism
Mr. Varadkar apologized for the leak of the document, saying that he had made mistakes and “I have tried to learn from them”.
High-ranking sources from Fianna Fáil and the Green Party said Tuesday night that they believed the crisis for Varadkar, and by extension for the government, would now pass, although Fianna Fáil’s TD Jim O’Callaghan and Marc MacSharry were critical. with the Tánaiste.
Speaking to The Irish Times after the Dáil session, O’Callaghan said that Varadkar still needed to claim that submitting the document was “incorrect.”
“Then he should move on with the rest of the government to rule the country during this difficult time for our people.”
The Greens issued a statement welcoming Varadkar’s “acknowledgment that what happened was not correct and his apology for this error in judgment.”
“Disclosure of information in this way was not correct and should not be repeated,” the party said.
But Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said that “Varadkar’s defense has collapsed tonight.”
‘This scandal’
“Each and every alibis presented by Leo Varadkar and the Fine Gael ministers have been exposed as a hoax. All correspondence, documents, files and notes related to this scandal must now be made public, ”he said in a tweet.
Many MPs referred to new details in Dr. Ó Tuathail’s messages that emerged Tuesday night, showing that he also made an unsuccessful effort to obtain the document from then-health minister Simon Harris in the days before it was sent to him. Mr. Varadkar. Dr. Ó Tuathail also suggested in a message that Mr. Harris would meet him for lunch at that time, which Mr. Harris denied on the floor of the Dáil.
The Irish Times contacted Dr. Ó Tuathail for comment Tuesday, but received no response.
The Standards Commission at the Public Office said it had received two complaints about the leak. This includes one from Rise TD Paul Murphy.
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