Tag Archives: Leo Varadkar

From top: Higher Education Minister Simon Harris has given a statement to gardaí investigating Tánaiste Leo Varadkar’s admission that he leaked a €210m GP contract. Mr Harris provided gardaí with a signed written statement on his knowledge of the events leading up to Mr Varadkar’s decision to send a copy of the contract to the former National Association of General Practitioners (NAGP) Dr Maitiu O Tuathail

“The gardaí have to do their job and investigate that complaint. I would expect nothing else.

“They have not been in contact with me about the matter, but I have, through my solicitors, made contact with them and I have offered to meet with them, answer any questions they may have, and provide a full statement on the matter.

“The facts are no different to those set out by me in the Dáil last November.

“My legal advice is that I have committed no offence. I look forward to the matter being concluded.”

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar

Meanwhile..

Varadkar offers to meet gardaí over GP contract (RTÉ)

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From top: Tanaiste Leo Varadkar; Lynsey Bennett outside the High Court yesterday

Yesterday: I’ve Been Organising Goodbye Videos For My Children (Newstalk)

A message on a wall in the Belvoir area of south Belfast spotted on Saturday morning has since been painted over

This morning.

The PSNI are treating graffiti on a Belfast wall about Tanaiste Leo Varadkar ‘not to cross the border’ as a hate crime.

Via The Irish News:

Northern ireland First Minister Arlene Foster tweeted: “Violence or the threat of violence has no place in democracy. I condemn those behind this.

“The NI Protocol needs replaced but violence or its threat will not achieve the change Northern Ireland needs.”

Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill said she was “shocked at the disgusting graffiti targeting Leo Varadkar which I condemn, as will the majority of people across the community.

“This is a hate crime motivated by prejudice,” she said.

“It’s also criminal damage and anyone with information should contact police who must investigate.”

Police treat threatening Leo Varadkar graffiti as hate crime (Irish News)

Earlier: Derek Mooney: May May Have Learned From Last Week’s Mistakes

Meanwhile…

 

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar

This afternoon.

The Tánaiste said the Government’s new mandatory requirement of a PCR test is being met with a very high degree of compliance and fines are being issued for those who breach the rules.

He said the three main reasons for opposing mandatory quarantine were that it is “disproportionate”, because positive Covid-19 cases within the State were not quarantined; the EU’s stringent rules on the freedom of movement; and the fact that Ireland cannot control its border, ie with Northern Ireland, in the same way that other island states can…

Meanwhile…

Fight!

Meanwhile…

Oh.

RollingNews

This morning.

Via The Irish Times:

Records released under the Freedom of Information Act to the Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty and seen by The Irish Times show increasingly urgent attempts by Mr Harris to obtain a copy of the draft agreement between the State and the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO). This was happening at the same time as Mr Varadkar had posted a copy to the home address of Dr Ó Tuathail, who was head of the now-defunct National Association of General Practitioners (NAGP).

Varadkar leaked GP contract while Harris urgently sought copy (Irish Times)

Meanwhile…

Uh oh.

RollingNews

In fairness.

Previously: Aidan Fitzmaurice on Broadsheet.

Meanwhile…

Oh.

Last night.

RTÉ’s Prime Time.

Hardcore fear/concern porn highlighting the new ‘mutant’ covid strain and featuring shameless rona restriction-breaching pair (see top) Miriam O’Callaghan and Tanaiste Leo Varadkar.

Fight!

Earlier: Go To Your Room

This morning.

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar celebrates new hires for Chinese-owned video app TikTok, facing the ongoing threat of a US ban, at its European data centre in Ireland.

Um.

Meanwhile…

Ah here.

From top: Tanaiste Leo Varadkar Leo Varadkar; Dr Matt Ó Tuathail; Village magazine

Friday.

Following Tanaiste Leo Varadakar’s Dail response to revelations in Village magazine of how he gave a contract negotiated between the Government and the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) to his friend, former National Association of General Practitioners’ president Dr Maitiú O Tuathail.

Mr Varadkar denied the level of contact with Dr O Tuathail suggested by Village. In one instance saying he was in Barcelona, Spain when the magazine claimed he had met Dr O Tuathail in Dublin.

Via Village:

“Dear Tánaiste,

You referred in the Dáil on 10 November to the impossibility of your having had ten encounters in 2019 with Dr Matt Ó Tuathail. You said many of the encounters referred to
were impossible.

Can you please say how many, and which of them, you consider you have now shown – as opposed to just stated without evidence – did not happen. Can you kindly please give information that shows you were in Barcelona at a time that proves you could not have had any particular one of the ten alleged encounters with Dr Ó Tuathail.

You also pointedly told the Dáil you had not spoken to Dr Ó Tuathail in nine days, after you understandably spoke to him on three occasions after Village‘s story broke. Can you please state whether Matt Barrett spoke to Dr Ó Tuathail on your behalf or otherwise about the leak affair and/or its fallout in that nine-day period. Can you please say if you ever discussed Community Hospital Ireland with Dr Ó Tuathail?

Michael Smith
Editor, Village Magazine

In reply…

“The Tánaiste answered questions on these matters in two sittings and over five hours of Dáil debate. In relation to Community Health Ireland, Dr. O’Toole sent a brochure to the Tánaiste in November 2018 for information and informed him that it was being piloted in co-operation with the HSE. The Tánaiste did not take any further action on the matter.”

Statement from the Tánaiste’s office.

Anyone?

Tánaiste’s reply to questions from Village (Village)

Last week: Meanwhile, In The Dáil

From top: Village magazine website; Tanaiste Leo Varadkar arriving at the Dáil in the Convention Cerntre

Yesterday

“There is more to this story than the sharing of a confidential document. I wish to speak about that for a moment.

“Our democracy is strong but we are not immune from the corrosive forces being experienced in other established democracies. I refer to fake news, conspiracy theories, the far right, the far left, unregulated fringe publications and unverified social media grievances, score-settling and smears masquerading as journalism, activism or some sort of anti-corruption crusade.

…I wish to put on the record that many of the claims made about me were trumped-up or simply made-up. Monday’s [Village] article was just one example of this. It alleged ten encounters, many of which simply did not and could not have happened, particularly as I was in Brussels on two occasions, Barcelona on one, out of Dublin on another or demonstrably doing Government business. It claimed four meetings with the Ministers, Deputies Donohoe and Harris, which also never happened. All could have been easily verified and checked if the truth mattered. Truth did not matter, however, and was not the objective.”

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar during his no-confidence debate yesterday.

Anyone?

At least 10 times not 2 or 3 (Village)

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