LOWRY: MY DEAL WITH VARADKAR
Tipperary TD reveals how Leo clinched his vote to become Taoiseach. He talks candidly of his tax conviction, access to ministers, years of ‘intrusion’ and about his marriage break-up
CONTROVERSIAL independent TD Michael Lowry has revealed for the first time the full circumstances of how Leo Varadkar asked for and received his support.
Deputy Lowry told the Irish Mail on Sunday that Mr Varadkar phoned him up, asked for and received his support, before – in the same conversation – raising constituency issues including Clonmel Hospital.
In spite of this exchange An Taoiseach commented during the 2016 general election campaign that he would hate to see a government dependent on somebody who had to be in court or, potentially, prison. This week Mr Varadkar came under political pressure over the support his Government receives from Mr Lowry in the wake of his conviction for revenue offences in the Circuit Court.
IT HAS been a busy week in Lowry country. And yet again the man once nicknamed ‘Lucky’ is at the centre of a storm – as his support for the minority Government becomes a political hot potato.
Speaking in the wake of his highprofile conviction this week on revenue charges, Mr Lowry told the Irish Mail on Sunday that Mr Varadkar telephoned him to seek his backing in a crucial vote while the Tipperary TD was travelling to the funeral of former Fine Gael Minister Austin Deasy on June 12, 2017.
During that phone call, in which Mr Varadkar secured Mr Lowry’s vote to elect him Taoiseach, the Tipperary TD raised the issue of funding for South Tipperary General Hospital.
Earlier this year, Mr Lowry announced a €50m grant to the hospital as part of the Capital Investment Plan – a figure his colleagues in Government strongly dispute.
Construction on a new 40-bed unit at the hospital has also begun since Mr Varadkar became Taoiseach.
Mr Lowry characterises the deal he has struck with Mr Varadkar as one that is a natural successor to one he struck with former taoiseach Bertie Ahern over 20 years ago. He says he has renewed it in some shape with every taoiseach since.
He also says that for political considerations he and Enda Kenny never wrote down their agreement.
He talks of the extraordinary level of access he is afforded – being permitted to walk onto the Ministerial corridor in Leinster House to make requests for his constituency.
As part of a wide-ranging interview at the Horse and Jockey Hotel in Tipperary, Mr Lowry also argues that he has suffered 22 years of ‘invasive’ and ‘intrusive’ investigations that have affected his three children and he confirms that his marriage has broken up.
He argues that the ‘system connived to take retribution’ and tried ‘to find something on me to justify the years of inquiry and investigation at a cost of millions to the State without tangible return’.
He was sacked as a minister from the Fine Gael-led coalition government in 1996 after revelations about links to businessman Ben Dunne.
Those revelations eventually led to the Moriarty Tribunal which investigated the awarding of Ireland’s second mobile phone licence to businessman Denis O’Brien’s Esat Digifone in 1995.
At the time the mobile phone licence was granted, Mr Lowry was communications minister.
The Moriarty Tribunal found it is ‘beyond doubt’ that Michael Lowry imparted substantive information to Denis O’Brien which was ‘of significant value and assistance to him in securing the licence’.
These developments led to Mr Lowry contesting the 1997 general election as an independent – winning a seat he has retained at every election since.
‘It was a different type of politics and I obviously had to adjust, it was a big shock to the system to not be part of a party, to not have the support mechanisms of policy directives, and not have the support of head office personnel,’ says Mr Lowry, smartly dressed in a pink and white striped Ralph Lauren shirt, as he relaxes into the conversation at an outdoor patio table at the Horse and Jockey.
‘The other thing I realised at an early stage was that to be successful in politics you have to be relevant. You have to be part of the decision-making process. You have to able to exert influence.
‘I was never one to sit on the outside and to whinge and complain and to indulge in negative politics. To be meaningful to your constituents and the people who elect you, you have to able to form a role and be able to deliver.’
Followng the 1997 election, Bertie Ahern’s Fianna Fáil formed a coalition with Mary Harney’s PDs but they were still short of a majority. Independent TDs Finian McGrath, the late Jackie Healy-Rae and Mr Lowry supported the government in a deal that saw their constituencies get preference in funding and infrastructure.
‘I suppose my success has been built around delivery and results. And I have managed to do that. To do that I had to take a deep breath, I supported Bertie Ahern in government,’ says Mr Lowry.
‘There was one thing about Bertie, Bertie was very direct. Bertie was the master of the art of politics in the sense he knew what it took to keep TDs happy, particularly TDs that were supporting him from the outside. And Bertie was a man of his word. When he said he would do something and it was part of the agreement, he delivered it.’
He explains that as a former Fine Gael TD it was difficult to enter an alliance with Mr Ahern. ‘I did the agreement with Bertie Ahern in his office in Drumcondra. For me to be walking into Bertie’s office in 1997 was like walking into the lion’s den.
‘I had given my life to Fine Gael but I knew that I couldn’t survive politically unless I was relevant. And I had to take a deep breath and go and do business with Bertie.
‘Myself and Jackie Healy-Rae went into the lion’s den. And it was pretty straightforward and the agreement was put to paper by Bertie’s programme manager Gerry Hickey. Gerry was a fantastic man. That agreement was signed between me and Bertie on Fianna Fáil headed paper. Bertie signed it as the President of Fianna Fáil.’
When Brian Cowen succeeded Mr Ahern as leader and taoiseach in 2008, he immediately held meetings with Mr Lowry and Mr Healy-Rae – Mr McGrath had pulled out.
‘And that agreement then rolled on under Brian Cowen,’ says Mr Lowry. He reveals that as the economy and the government collapsed in 2010 and 2011 he dealt mostly with the late finance minister Brian Lenihan. ‘I’ll never forget Brian Lenihan. Meeting Brian Lenihan he
‘A big shock to not be part of a party’ ‘Took a deep breath and did business with Bertie’
did not look good at all. His only concern at that time was to save and revive the economy. It was in a perilous state. “Michael, we have to get the budget through and we have to get the Finance Bill through. I’m asking you in the name of the Government to stick with us.” ‘He was so sincere and genuine I couldn’t leave that office that day without promising him that I would stick with him, and I was the last man standing. Myself and Jackie Healy-Rae, we saw it out until the end every day until that government collapsed.’
After the collapse of that FiannaFáil-led government Mr Lowry says agreements were extended to Fine Gael taoisigh. ‘Then I supported Enda Kenny and now I’m supporting [Leo] Varadkar. So I’m a firm believer in being at the centre.’
Following the 2016 election Mr Kenny was forced to form a minority government and he needed the support of Independents. Mr Lowry voted for Mr Kenny to become taoiseach. But he did so on the basis of an unwritten agreement.
‘I was very conscious of the fact that if there was any written agreements or any written proposals that they’d be used politically against the government and I didn’t want that.
‘I was happy to have access to the mechanics of government, to ministerial offices, to ministerial secretaries, and to be able to put forward a rational and reasonable argument for whatever projects were worthy of consideration.’
When asked whether he is entitled to walk onto the ministerial corridor in Government Buildings to discuss his constituency, he replies: ‘All TDs who are supporting the Government have access to the ministerial corridor.’
He goes on to describe the events that led to Mr Varadkar becoming Taoiseach. Mr Varadkar had won the Fine Gael leadership contest but needed to be elected Taoiseach. It was June last year and former Fine Gael agriculture minister Austin Deasy, the father of Fine Gael TD John Deasy, had died.
‘Leo Varadkar became leader of Fine Gael, I was on my way to Austin Deasy’s funeral. On my way down to the funeral I received a phone call from Leo Varadkar.
‘And in that phone call Leo Varadkar said to me: “As you know I’m trying to form a minority government. You’re an elected representative with a mandate and a vote in Dáil Éireann and I’d like you to consider me for the vote,”’ Mr Lowry recalls.
‘I said: “Leo you’re getting my vote and it’s unconditional. It’s unconditional and we need stability and I’m happy to support you. And
I think I gave a speech in the Dáil that day and all I asked him to do was to be himself. I said he had the intellect, he had the ability, all he had to do was be himself.
‘I didn’t say I’m voting for you on the condition that you do x,y or z. I gave him unconditional support and in the course of that conversation what I did say was that “we have problems in my constituency that need attention”. And one of those problems was South Tipperary General Hospital had been starved of investment. We had serious problems with overcrowding. I said that, you know, there are obviously health projects that will require priority.’
Mr Lowry says his ‘representations’ to Mr Varadkar’s Government led directly to a huge injection of funding to South Tipperary General Hospital.
‘Arising from the representations we made we now have €50m investment in the hospital in Clonmel. I was there earlier this morning and the place is a hive of activity. There is five big machines working on the site, there’s a new modular unit being manufactured as we speak. There are huge improvements
‘A bit rich that Micheál Martin is unhappy now’
being designed and planned for the hospital, both short term and long term.
‘I think I have achieved that success by not making it a condition. In other words I worked out the rationale, I made the presentation, I got the consultants to make their case. The case wasn’t just made politically – medically it was undeniable.’
Asked if his constituency gets special consideration, Mr Lowry says: ‘It is like this, in politics you have to be logical and pragmatic, and people need to face up to the reality that this is a minority government. It is in the best interests of the country to have stability. And I feel that I am being responsible in supporting that stability, by supporting the Government. I think that is understandable that somebody in that position would have the attention of a minister or a policy maker if there is something in the constituency needs attention.
‘The Taoiseach has made it very clear that every TD that is supporting this minority government has access to ministers.’
Mr Lowry was also unhappy with the tone of the questioning by Micheál Martin about his deal this week.
‘I had written agreements with Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen in their roles as President of Fianna Fáil. Micheál Martin was a Cabinet Minister in both of those governments and now he is posing as an altar boy. He would have been fully briefed on those written agreements.
‘So it is a bit rich that he is unhappy now. I have no written agreement with Fine Gael but have given my unconditional support in the interest of stability at a dangerous time for the country.’
Contacted for a response a Government spokesman said: ‘As Deputy Lowry said, he neither sought nor was offered any conditions or concessions linked to his general support for the Government. There is no formal agreement with him, written or otherwise. He often raises constituency issues with Ministers who will work on them where they are good policy and make sense, as is the case with any good policy. Clonmel has a major overcrowding problem in winter so it makes sense to increase capacity at the hospital. That is happening along with a dozen other hospitals. We do not recognise the €50m figure though, nor where it comes from.’
This week Mr Lowry was fined €15,000 and his company Garuda was fined €10,000 after being found guilty of a tax offence and failing to keep proper books of account.
The charges relate to a payment of around €372,000 from a Finnish company Norpe OY.
In response to this he argues that there was no loss to the State by his actions. ‘There was no loss to the Exchequer or to Revenue. What I was convicted for was an overpayment of my tax return of 2006, it was the overpayment that made my return incorrect. This is a precedent that has never happened before, that someone was convicted for overpayment of tax.’
He says he has been able to manage the succession of investigations into his financial and political affairs but they have deeply affected those close to him. ‘I am able to cope, and I don’t feel sorry for myself, but I do feel sorry for my family. I do feel sorry for my relatives and for my friends. And I’m very pleased for the people of Tipperary, I know the people of Tipperary are happy for me that a line has been drawn in the sand on this matter. The Revenue withdrew all charges against me on Thursday evening.
‘I can now get on with my life, I’m looking forward to getting back to what I’m good at, the day job, which is supporting, assisting and helping people in their time of need.
‘It is very simple. I do feel that the system connived to take retribution. The system connived to find something on me to justify the years of inquiry and investigation at a cost of millions to the State without any tangible return.
‘I have had six different inquiries over 22 years. It has been invasive. It has been very intrusive. Obviously, for me it has been stressful. It has been physically and mentally draining.’
Mr Lowry also says that during this period his marriage broke up. ‘In 2002, in the height of this, in the middle of all the turmoil, my marriage split. Let’s put it this way, it wasn’t my wife Catherine’s fault. It certainly wasn’t Catherine’s fault.
‘My wife Catherine and her family are my best supporters and Catherine has canvassed with me in every election right up to the last election – and will be available to do the next one. I have a good relationship with her.’
‘Very pleased for the people of Tipperary’ Break-up of my marriage? Let’s put it this way, it certainly wasn’t the fault of my wife