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TÁNAISTE Leo Varadkar has criticized “insinuations” about his friendship with the doctor at the center of the controversy over the leak of a confidential contract as a GP.
The Fine Gael leader shook his head when Tipperary TD Mattie McGrath suggested that a photograph of Mr. Varadkar and Dr. Maitiú Ó Tuathail at the Gay Pride Parade in 2019 was evidence that they were “very close contacts.” Mr. McGrath referred to Pride as “a certain parade.”
The image is one of the few photographs of the two men together and has been in print in various media outlets in recent days.
During an interrogation of Dáil tonight about the leak of a GP contract to Dr. Ó Tuathail in April 2019, Varadkar said they were not close friends.
He said they had similar social circles and defended himself from giving him the treatment as he was the head of the National Association of General Practitioners (NAGP) at the time.
Mr. McGrath raised the cries when he said that the Taoiseach had told the Dáil of a “different range of friends”.
“Some are long-distance friends, some are absent friends, and some are friends for the moment. I just had a photo on my phone here of you and Dr. Ó Tuathail involved in a certain march in Dublin in 2019. Very close contacts and very close friends, ”said the Independent TD.
He claimed that the GP had used Mr. Varadkar “as a puppet and I think you actually did not know that he was using you as a puppet.”
Mr. Varadkar responded by saying, “We all know the innuendo here. We all know what it is. We all know it’s a big part of what’s in the article (in Village magazine) and what’s online. And he is not a true deputy “.
He added: “I know what is being said, it is not true. This is someone who is not a close friend, someone who is a friend of someone. It is in my wider social circle.
“I would say that we have seen each other twice in the last year. Once at a Christmas party over a year ago. Once when six people were out for dinner, and he was one of the six and I was one of the other six.
“And we would be in touch and other things. He is very involved in the Covid issue. By the way, we don’t have the same opinion about Covid. He supports the Covid zero strategy, I am skeptical about it. We would talk about that. He’s involved in SafetyNet, which is an organization that provides GP services for the homeless, and for Roman, for travelers, and I’ve dated them. “
Irish independent
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