LEO HITS OUT AT CLAIM TDs ‘FROZEN OUT’
LEO Varadkar slapped down his former Cabinet colleague Brendan Howlin yesterday over whether Opposition politicians should have been invited to a ‘snow’ appearance by the Taoiseach.
Mr Varadkar did not invite the TDs from Wexford to meet him when he made an appearance in the constituency to meet emergency workers on Friday, complained the Labour Party leader, a Wexford TD.
The Taoiseach said: ‘I probably did not, because it was the last thing on my mind.
‘Upsetting the egos of politicians really has not been on my mind for the last couple of days. I have been far too busy dealing with a national emergency and
‘Too busy to organise invites’
matters of State such as Brexit to personally organise invitations to TDs so that they felt included, but I do genuinely apologise to the deputy if his dignity was offended.’
Mr Howlin replied that it was not about dignity. ‘The Taoiseach should not be scurrilous,’ he said, adding that it was about standard protocol.
Mr Varadkar pointed out the visit was to an ambulance base in Mr Howlin’s own constituency, ‘a few metres from where his office is’.
The Labour Party leader said: ‘The Taoiseach finds it very difficult to answer any question without some personal slur.’
He added: ‘Whenever there is a briefing on an issue like this from the Taoiseach, it is normal, and a matter of courtesy, to invite key local representatives and others to attend.’
Mr Howlin went on to complain that in the middle of the crisis, Health Minister Simon Harris ‘had to tweet a response countermanding a HSE memo on workers using annual leave to cover absences’, saying there was a need for clarity on the responsibilities of employers.
Mr Varadkar said Minister Harris had indeed clarified the situation using Twitter. He said of the social media platform: ‘It is a very succinct and quick way to get a message across. I noted that, within a few minutes, there were tweets from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation and the Irish Medical Organisation welcoming the Minister for Health’s tweet clarifying the matter.’