Why Leo’s leaking really is a scandal

SINN Féin will bring a motion of no confidence in Tánaiste Leo Varadkar to the Dáil on Tuesday. The current Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, has failed to hold the Fine Gael leader to account, so the opposition must apply the only sanction available to us. It is the right and necessary thing to do.

This Government has lurched from scandal to scandal and this is one too far. At a time when Fine Gael connections to high-finance are under scrutiny for backing profitable banks over struggling mortgage holders, when the scandal of the elite rubbing shoulders together at Golfgate that angered so many is still fresh in the memory, we see behaviour that confirms once again that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil will always run government in the interests of the privileged insiders and golden circles – those in their club.

The public good always finishes a distant second.

It will not be lost on anybody that Varadkar’s actions are in stark contrast to the treatment of Debenhams workers and the survivors of the mother and baby homes – decent people facing serious injustices pleading to have their voices heard but end up being ignored, plámásed and retraumatised instead.

Why? Because unlike those in Varadkar’s circle, they do not have friends in high places – no willing pals in power who will ‘always deliver’ for them. While those survivors of mother and baby homes have access to their own personal information obstructed by government, Leo Varadkar is happy to pass on highly confidential information he was not entitled to share.

His explanations for why he leaked a confidential document to his friend have been correctly slammed by some of his colleagues as ‘fairytales’.

At a time when the Dáil should be focused on the considerable challenges facing our people, we are dealing with yet another scandal from this chaotic government.

The negotiations for a new GP contract, worth €210million of taxpayers’ money, between government and the Irish Medical Organisation were both long running and sensitive.

The facts of what happened are not in dispute.

Leo Varadkar has admitted that, when Taoiseach, he leaked a confidential draft copy to his friend on a date between the 11th and 16th of April last year.

His pal was president of the National Association of General Practitioners, a bitter rival of the IMO for members, subscriptions and influence.

Caught red-handed, the Tánaiste now says that they weren’t ‘close friends’. This is not credible, but it appears that Leo Varadkar is content for Dr Ó Tuathail to be collateral damage in his striving for self-preservation.

The Fine Gael leader claims that the document was already in the public domain when he leaked it to his friend. This is not true – the Dáil record proves so. And if it was public, why did his friend ask for a copy of it and why did Leo Varadkar post it to his home address?

The Government has claimed negotiations with the IMO had concluded at the time of the leak. That is not true. It was leaked in the middle of April and the document had at least 35 changes by the time the IMO came to vote on it by May 19, 2019.

The Fine Gael leader even wrote on the leaked draft that it was ‘subject to amendment and changes’ and the word ‘confidential’ was stamped on the front. It was very much a live document.

He also claims that the leak was motivated by the public interest. It was no such thing. The Government had no contact with the NAGP during the negotiations on the GP contract.

Former Health Minister Simon Harris confirmed he was asked for the document by Dr Ó Tuathail the same weekend as Leo Varadkar but he did not provide it. In fact, Minister Harris was blissfully unaware that Varadkar had circulated the document.

The Fine Gael leader helped out his friend. It is as simple as that. He abused his position as Taoiseach, and none of the explanations for his behaviour are good enough.

On Thursday, when questioned by Pearse Doherty, Leo Varadkar admitted to deleting from his phone the communication, which would otherwise be subject to a Freedom of Information request, from Dr Ó Tuathail.

To add insult to injury, he then went on to laugh and to try and make a joke about this whole sorry episode.

But, as Pearse said in his response, this is no joke, and it most certainly is not the end of it either.

After a catalogue of calamities, public confidence in this Government is on the floor but this latest scandal is a step too far.

The position of Taoiseach was abused and it is for that reason we have brought forward this motion of no confidence.

‘None of Leo Varadkar’s explanations stack up’