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TÁNAISTE LEO VARADKAR has apologized in the Dáil for “errors of judgment” after delivering a copy of a negotiated agreement between the Government and the Irish Medical Organization (IMO) to a rival GP group last year.
Varadkar told the Dáil that it had been alleged that there was something “improper, perhaps even criminal” in what he did, insisting that this is not the case.
In his statement to the Dáil, Varadkar said he wanted to refute some of the allegations made against him, and also apologize “for his errors in judgment”.
The Fine Gael frontman is facing mounting pressure following the publication of a Village Magazine article over the weekend.
Speaking at the Dáil tonight, he said the suggestion that he had something to gain from his actions “is false and deeply offensive.”
Varadkar said he had “unfinished business” at the Health Department, which included obtaining a new GP contract through the hotline.
He said he took an active interest in the talks and his only motivation was to get as many GPs as possible to sign up to the deal.
The Tánaiste said the agreement was largely in the public domain and ran through the timeline of events from when the talks ended until the agreement was published.
The then Health Minister, Simon Harris, presented a memorandum to the cabinet on Tuesday, April 9, in which he said that “the commitment with the IMO had ended,” said the Tánaiste.
Varadkar said he sent the document to NAGP’s Dr. Maitiú Ó Tuathail on “probably the 15th or 16th.”
He said he sent it “confidentially”, believing that the publication of the agreement was imminent. Varadkar said he should have called the NAGP for a briefing and reviewed the document line by line, rather than passing it on informally.
“That’s the way it should have been done, I didn’t do it that way,” Varadkar said, adding that he knew that mailing it to Ó Tuathail “was a shortcut.”
He told Dáil that he was fulfilling a political commitment to keep the NAGP informed about the negotiations.
“The rivalry between the organizations was often bitter, made it difficult to reach an agreement and slowed progress.
“The NAGP wanted to be at the table. Some family doctors were members of both organizations, some of neither. Ultimately, the government decided to deal only with IMO, as our long-time ICTU-affiliated negotiating partner. The opposition was very critical of this at the time.
“We pledged, however, to keep the NAGP engaged, involved and informed about the progress and outcome of the negotiations,” said the Tánaiste.
It has been alleged that there was something improper, or even criminal, said Varadkar who denies that this is the case. He said Ó Tuathail has been described as “a cheerleader for Varadkar.”
“Yes, there are examples of his public support for me during the period, but there are also many to the contrary.
“For example, on April 13, 2019, in the middle of this timeline, he publicly attacked the government for providing more GP business cards, calling it a shameful ‘vote-getting exercise.’
“He went on to describe the government policy I led as ‘the biggest scam in the history of the health service.’
“Not exactly cheerleaders.”
He said that Ó Tuathail “is not as close as a friend as he has said”, adding that he gave him the agreement because he was the head of the NAGP, “not my friend”.
He said friends and acquaintances often pretend to be closer to those in power than they actually are, and said some members of the House will testify to this.
Sometimes people like to exaggerate the nature of their relationships to inflate their own influence, Varadkar said.
“This is clearly a big part of this story,” he said.
Varadkar also told Dáil that he had been in contact with Ó Tuathail since the story first appeared in The Village Magazine.
He said this was to verify the timeline for when the document was submitted. He said Ó Tuathail asked if the NAGP should issue a statement. Varadkar said that he told him that he would not instruct him one way or another as to whether they should.
“Yes, we are friends,” he said, adding that “there are friends and there are friends. We are not close friends, ”he said.
He said he meets Ó Tuathail two or three times a year, perhaps at a drinks reception or when social circles overlap.
“We are not best friends,” he said, adding that some are trying to make it look like “we are more than that, that’s not the case at all.”
Opposition questions
Responding to Paul Murphy’s questions, Varadkar said he has not decided whether or not to take legal action against the magazine that published the story about the leaked documents. He had previously described the article that appeared in Village magazine as “extremely defamatory.”
He told Dáil that he has “a very strong legal action that the cover is defamatory.”
When asked by TD Paul Murphy if he had decided to take legal action, he said: “I have some advice on that, I haven’t decided yet. They seem to be provoking me. “
He said he had been warned that “suing them would be like suing someone on Twitter.”
Tipperary’s independent TD Mattie McGrath asked Varadkar how close he and Ó Tuathail were, given the posting of a photo of the two attending a Pride march in the past.
Varadkar: “We all know the innuendo there. We all know what it is. We all know it was a big part of what was in the article … not true. “
Aontú TD Peadar Toibin asked if Varadkar had ever leaked information from the cabinet. The Tánaiste paused before saying “none of that, deputy.” He said politicians leak from time to time.
Galway’s independent TD Catherine Connolly said Tánaiste’s statement is “full of effect.”
“When did you realize that you had made a mistake in judgment?” He asked.
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Varadkar said that what he was trying to do was correct, in terms of trying to make sure that doctors did not object to the deal.
Referring to the WhatsApp messages posted on The Village, he said they were “deplorable” but that he can only be held responsible for his own messages, stating that he cannot be held responsible for what other people say in the text messages.
Connolly raised the Golfgate issue, reminding the Tánaiste who said it was important to lead by example when disciplining members of the Fine Gael. He asked if this would be the case in this matter.
At the beginning of the question and answer session, Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty read from Dáil’s log what appeared to be new screenshots of Ó Tuathail’s interactions with Varadkar and former Health Minister Simon Harris.
Doherty suggested that Ó Tuathail went to lunch with Harris in Wicklow, stating that the messages show Ó Tuathail also pressured Harris to obtain a copy of the agreement.
After tonight’s debate, Harris tried to address some of the allegations raised, stating that while there is nothing wrong with going for coffee or lunch with someone, he did not do so with Ó Tuathail.
“The day in question was at an East Coast FM benefit event,” he said.
A Harris spokesperson said tonight that the minister did not share the contract or agreement with any outside party.
“The minister wanted to see the agreement formally published on the Department of Health website once it was agreed between the three parties: IMO, HSE and DOH. That happened on May 17. Any query I made to officials was about the publication of the document.
“The Minister received a direct message and responded to the president of the NAGP. However, it did not provide information or seek to make it available to the NAGP. He did not meet the person in question at any time from Wicklow. “
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