[ad_1]
Former Agriculture Minister Barry Cowen has said Leo Varadkar has a “right to make a mistake” and does not believe that a “grave should be prepared” for the Tánaiste as a result of the contract controversy.
Varadkar shared confidential information with a rival body during government negotiations with the Irish Medical Organization (IMO) in April 2019, it emerged following an article in Village Magazine.
As the Irish Times reports, Mr Cowen, who was fired as Minister of Agriculture following the controversy over a drunk driving incident, said Mr Varadkar had made a mistake “with good intentions, if it is possible”.
“I would not dance on his grave,” he said, “I don’t think a grave should be prepared on that in this case.”
Cowen’s intervention will be considered as significant as he was removed from office following a political controversy earlier this year.
Inadvertent mistake
“It would seem that it was a well-intentioned mistake, if that’s possible, as one can imagine the anxiety of putting that process (the GP contract) to bed,” Cowen said.
“It is an inadvertent mistake that I should learn from and move on, there are bigger issues facing the country right now.”
His comments come when Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe, speaking on RTÉ radio, said that the Tánaiste shared the draft of the agreement “after an agreement was reached on that new GP (general practitioner) contract in particular. “.
“What we wanted to do was get an agreement from the GPs for its implementation,” he said. “It was after a press conference on the deal had been held.
“He is well aware of his duty to the Dáil to answer questions. He wants to explain why he acted as he did,” Mr. Donohoe said.
He added: “Based on yesterday’s statement, I know that he feels it could have been done differently, all he did was try to come to an agreement for a new GP contract. He and I would acknowledge the way it was shared. It could have been done differently. “
Full access
Meanwhile, the National Association of General Practitioners says it received a copy of the finalized, agreed and announced program for chronic disease management from then-Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in mid-April 2019.
In a statement tonight, former NAGP Chairman and Chairman Dr. Andrew Jordan and Dr. Maitiu O Tuathail say they would not be able to take a position on this program as a union, without full access to the details it contains.
They claim that the NAGP knew the main content of the new contract proposed by the State.
They say that it was wrong for one group of GPs to have access to details and for another group of GPs to not have the same access to that information, since the NAGP and its members participated in its training.
It is after Tanaiste Leo Varadkar admitted that he provided the NAGP with a copy of an IMO GP contract agreement in April last year.
[ad_2]