Tomas Doherty
The Government has won a motion of confidence in Tánaiste Leo Varadkar.
TDs backed the motion by 92 votes to 65 after a two-hour debate on Tuesday evening.
All Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Green Party TDs in the Dáil supported the Government, as did six of the Regional Independents and three Independents.
Sinn Féin – who proposed an initial motion of no confidence – Labour, Social Democrats, and Solidarity People Before Profit, Rural Independents and other Independents opposed the motion.
Sinn Féin brought the motion over Mr Varadkar’s disclosure of a confidential document agreed with the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) to a rival GP group. The disclosure took place in 2019, while Mr Varadkar was taoiseach.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin opened the Dáil debate on the motion by expressing his support for his coalition partner.
He said the Sinn Féin motion was a “100 per cent cynical move”.
Government TDs have insisted the Tánaiste had acted in good faith when he forwarded a confidential copy of the new GP contract agreed with the IMO, to Dr Maitiú Ó Tuathail, the president of a rival organisation, NAGP, who happened to be a friend.
In his statement opening the debate at the Convention Centre, Mr Martin said the Tánaiste had addressed and dealt with the controversy.
“It was inappropriate and it should not have happened,” he told the Dáil. “When the Tanaiste informed me of the issue he outlined the details of what happened and these details have remained consistent subsequently.”
The Fianna Fáil leader said Mr Varadkar also accepted without any issue that he needed to come before the Dáil to explain himself.
“Nobody has demonstrated any personal gain from how the document was distributed and public policy was not adversely impacted,” the Taoisaech said.
“The Tánaiste has acknowledged his error and all details have been published,” he added.
'Political smear'
Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney claimed the no-confidence motion was a “political smear campaign” that was “masquerading as whistleblowing”.
Mr Varadkar was someone he had “grown to know well and trust” and the motion was put forward by Sinn Féin to “capitalise on a mistake made by the Tánaiste”, he said.
He said Mr Varadkar’s “motivation” was well meaning but he did “take a short cut”.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald accused the Government of “incompetence and chaos” and told the Dáil the “refusal” of the current Taoiseach to hold the Tánaiste to account had left a no-confidence motion “as the only sanction available to us as an opposition”.
Mr McDonald said the Government had responded with “name-calling and spin” but no amount of “mudslinging by Fine Gael can alter the facts”.
“While he was Taoiseach he leaked confidential Government information to his friend,” she said.
“He can offer no credible reason for his actions. His claim that he was acting in the interest of the taxpayer or the info was already in the public domain were thread-bare.
“Those defences collapsed on the floor of the Dáil last week. The truth is there is no acceptable reason for what happened.”
Ms McDonald added it was a “conscious decision”. – Additional reporting: PA
