Humphreys joins strong defence of Tainaiste

The Sinn Féin motion follows the revelation that he had sent a copy of an agreement between the government and the Irish Medical Organisation to a rival GP group while in office as Taoiseach last year.

There were verbal fireworks and missiles galore last evening, prior to the Government voting confidence in the Tanaiste Leo Varadkar by a majority 92 votes to 65.

All Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Green Party TDs attending the House, sitting at the national Conference Centre, supported the Government in defending the motion, as did nine Independents.

Heather Humphreys, Minister for Social Protection and Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, during her contribution to the debate lambasted Sinn Féin for what she described as “cheap political stunts” in bringing the vote of no confidence in the Tanaiste.

The Sinn Féin motion follows the revelation that he had sent a copy of an agreement between the government and the Irish Medical Organisation to a rival GP group while in office as Taoiseach last year.

Varadkar faced questions in the Dáil last Tuesday on the subject, which first reached the public domain after details were published by Village Magazine.

The government countered the Sinn Féin motion, tabling a confidence motion, which was proposed by Taoiseach Micheál Martin at the outset of the debate.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said Deputy Varadkar “must be held accountable” for his actions, following which government colleagues mounted a robust defence of the Tánaiste.

Stunts

Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys was among those to speak in fervent support of Deputy Varadkar.

She claimed claimed Sinn Féin as a party were “more interested in cheap political stunts than the very people they claim to represent”.

She added that Sinn Féin is a party that has “multiple mysterious bank accounts”, that “denigrates victims”, and a party “that operates under a toxic culture of secrecy, bullying and intimidation and most of all the party of rank hypocrisy.”

She went on to state that Sinn Féin pontificates about a perceived golden circle when it is the richest party in the country.

Ms Humphreys went on question how Sinn Féin could accuse the Government of the day of burying records when “victims of the IRA across the country are still buried and their families are still awaiting the truth from Sinn Féin.”

Taoiseach Micheál Martin earlier opened the Dáil debate by expressing his support for his coalition partner.

He said the Sinn Féin motion was a “100 per cent cynical move”.

During the debate, Mr Varadkar also claimed that many of the things said about him “were trumped up or made up”.

Criticising Varadkar’s actions, Sinn Féin's Deputy McDonald said the government was “playing by the rulebook of the old boys’ network”.

“The cozy club insider culture that dominates Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil too is why those parties failed workers and families again and again,” she noted.

Sinn Féin’s Finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty went as far as to suggest that Deputy Varadkar had been “caught red handed” after passing on a confidential document.

Closing the debate, Deputy Varadkar apologised once again over his leaking of the document, but did so while levelling a further attack against Sinn Féin.

He accused Sinn Fein of tabling the motion to “keep the story in the public eye for another week” and to “distract from other issues”.