Person: Leo Varadkar

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Person: Leo Varadkar

A COMPREHENSIVE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON THIS TOPIC

<p>Leo Varadkar with Cork pop star Lyra n 'Unchartered with Ray Goggins'.</p>

spotlight

What do politicians do when they leave politics? We asked them

Last year’s general election saw a significant level of attrition, with some politicians leaving on their own terms and others being ejected by voters. Political Editor Elaine Loughlin finds out what is next in line for those who left the political sphere

<p>Labour Leader Ivana Batik launching her party's Alternative Budget 2025 on Friday. Picture: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews</p>

politics

Ivana Bacik: Leo Varadkar's immigration comments 'a new low'

Elaine-Loughlin

Elaine Loughlin: Nothing new? Simon Harris faces a tough sell ahead of election

Symbol of law and justice in the empty courtroom

ourview

Irish Examiner view: Ireland may be waking up to the incalculable harm of gender-based violence

Leo Varadkar resignation

politics

Leo Varadkar confirms he will not stand in next election

Coronavirus - Wed Aug 4, 2021

court and crime

Paul Murphy wins order quashing Sipo refusal to investigate Leo Varadkar allegations

Colin Sheridan: Bilderberg's Chatham House Rule may apply

S Colin Sheridan: Bilderberg's Chatham House Rule may apply

Your crummy little meeting doesn’t mean diddly squat unless it’s conducted under a rule. Preferably the Chatham House Rule

Sat, 08 Jun, 2024

Elaine Loughlin: As a small nation, Ireland has 'stood up' for Palestinians and peace

Elaine Loughlin: As a small nation, Ireland has 'stood up' for Palestinians and peace

Over the past seven months, thousands have taken to the streets on a regular basis protesting the horrific bombardment of the Gaza Strip

Wed, 22 May, 2024

Irish Examiner view: Far right in Ireland — heed the warning before it’s too late

Irish Examiner view: Far right in Ireland — heed the warning before it’s too late

In 1984, Mario Cuomo, then governor of New York, delivered one of the great American political speeches on the impact of Ronald Reagan’s policies. Cuomo offered a confirmation, not a warning, saying: “This is how we were warned it would be.

Wed, 01 May, 2024

Late Late talking points: Annie Mac turned down MBE, Strictly star on dad’s alcoholism

Late Late talking points: Annie Mac turned down MBE, Strictly star on dad’s alcoholism

Leo Varadkar also discussed how he 'nearly chickened out' of resigning as Taoiseach

Sat, 27 Apr, 2024

Leo Varadkar tells Late Late Show: 'I nearly chickened out of resigning'

Leo Varadkar tells Late Late Show: 'I nearly chickened out of resigning'

The recently resigned taoiseach says a term limit for the office of head of Irish government could be a good idea

Fri, 26 Apr, 2024

Stardust apology 'void of moral authority' if State does not address Whiddy Island disaster

Stardust apology 'void of moral authority' if State does not address Whiddy Island disaster

Vice president of the French-Irish Association of Relatives and Friends of the Betelgeuse Michael Kingston has

Mon, 22 Apr, 2024

New Taoiseach appointed

S Terry Prone: Sinn Féin’s stale predictability leaves it as cutting edge as a butter knife

The chronic outrage, the same old faces on the front bench, and Mary Lou McDonald's portentous tone are leaving floating voters cold

Mon, 15 Apr, 2024

Defence Forces Open Day Launch

Cormac O'Keeffe: Ireland is 13 years without a dedicated minister for defence

Leo Varadkar's parting shot as Taoiseach highlights the international and domestic argument for a full-time defence minister

Thu, 11 Apr, 2024

Irish Examiner view: Democracy is meaningless if it does not apply to all

Irish Examiner view: Democracy is meaningless if it does not apply to all

Low-key handover of power

Wed, 10 Apr, 2024

Paul Hosford: Leo Varadkar left without a seat as Simon Harris grabs his chance to shine

Paul Hosford: Leo Varadkar left without a seat as Simon Harris grabs his chance to shine

Simon Harris launches his new era as Taoiseach — only to discover that there will be no honeymoon

Tue, 09 Apr, 2024

Fine Gael leadership

Ireland's youngest Taoiseach juggles geography and gender as he assembles his first Cabinet

McEntee unlikely to be moved from ‘complex’ Justice role as incoming Taoiseach Simon Harris considers which ministers and junior ministers to appoint

Tue, 09 Apr, 2024

Mature couple holding hands at a doctors office

Letters to the Editor: Two-tier cancer care is inequitable

A doctor responds to 'Irish Examiner' Health Correspondent Niamh Griffin's recent articles about uninsured patients' lack of access to the latest cancer drugs

Tue, 09 Apr, 2024

Record reveals list of discouraged words and phrases in Leo Varadkar's government

Record reveals list of discouraged words and phrases in Leo Varadkar's government

‘Climate breakdown’ is on the list of barred phrases, although no alternative phraseology is proposed

Mon, 08 Apr, 2024

Áras an Uachtaráin

The process: How Taoiseach's office will change hands this week

Transition of office from Leo Varadkar to Simon Harris will start with current Taoiseach's visit to Áras an Uachtaráin around 6pm on Monday

Mon, 08 Apr, 2024

Varadkar says FG should prepare for historic fourth term in Government

Varadkar says FG should prepare for historic fourth term in Government

Fine Gael should be preparing for a historic fourth term in Government, outgoing Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said in his final speech as party president.

Sat, 06 Apr, 2024

Fine Gael says SF is 'not decent' and it will 'not have them in Government'

Fine Gael says SF is 'not decent' and it will 'not have them in Government'

At Fine Gael's Ard Fheis in Galway, Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said Sinn Féin's “mask slips” in serious and trivial ways

Sat, 06 Apr, 2024

Sarah Harte: Confidence trick could explain the gender gap in our fear of failure

S Sarah Harte: Confidence trick could explain the gender gap in our fear of failure

Maybe we women lack confidence and underestimate our abilities. Or maybe it's just that some men are staggeringly overconfident...

Wed, 03 Apr, 2024

Mick Clifford: Simon Coveney, the last merchant prince politician, leaves with solid work record

S Mick Clifford: Simon Coveney, the last merchant prince politician, leaves with solid work record

Stepping up in the midst of personal family tragedy, Simon Coveney showed off his safe but unspectacular hands while in Government

Tue, 02 Apr, 2024

Paul Hosford: Homelessness, not hate speech, will be the millstone around the Government's neck

S Paul Hosford: Homelessness, not hate speech, will be the millstone around the Government's neck

In his speech to the Fine Gael faithful, Simon Harris did not mention housing, though he pinpointed it as an example of where his Government will have the 'moral courage' to admit its shortcomings

Sat, 30 Mar, 2024

Letters to the Editor: Being treated as a human, not a statistic, restores faith in public service

Letters to the Editor: Being treated as a human, not a statistic, restores faith in public service

One reader protests with his pen against the atrocities in the Middle East, while another suggests supporters of the Sale of Alcohol bill spend a 12-hour shift at a hospital emergency unit

Fri, 29 Mar, 2024

Limerick v Kilkenny - Allianz Hurling League Division 1 Semi-Final

Letters to the Editor: Shortened hurling season not respectful

Having listened to Clare’s John Conlon and the Waterford manager Davy Fitzgerald (Sunday Sport, RTÉ Radio 1) after the round of league matches on March 10, and having read and (Irish Examiner, March 20), it is clear that the hurling season hasn’t ...

Wed, 27 Mar, 2024

RTE pay revelations

Letters to the Editor: Short-term lettings crackdown

When is a tourism minister not a tourism minister? (, Irish Examiner, March 19).

Tue, 26 Mar, 2024

Terry Prone: We love a resignation and all the drama and intrigue that follows

S Terry Prone: We love a resignation and all the drama and intrigue that follows

It’s no accident that one of the most exciting and popular recent TV series was entitled ‘Succession’. The who-gets-what battle is riveting

Mon, 25 Mar, 2024

Leo Varadkar steps down as Taoiseach

Suzanne Harrington: Giving lessons in the art of resignation could be Leo's next job

No hinting, no lingering... just a short sharp quit, accompanied by a sentence so refreshing it rivals rolling around naked in fresh snow: “I am not the best person for the job anymore”

Sun, 24 Mar, 2024

Simon Harris TD

Simon Harris commits to 'renewal' of party in first speech as Fine Gael leader

Speaking in Athlone to party members, Mr Harris said it was a moment for Fine Gael to "reset"

Sun, 24 Mar, 2024

Colm O'Regan: I have resigned twice in my life... pure bliss

Colm O'Regan: I have resigned twice in my life... pure bliss

Obviously, the bliss doesn’t last long as I worried then about where the money was going to come from but still August 2010 was a series of delicious wakings-up. Like a Lotto ad without the money

Sat, 23 Mar, 2024

Taoiseach visit to the US

S Paul Hosford: No longer the man for the job, Leo Varadkar’s life is now changed immeasurably

From his St Patrick's Day engagements in the US to a European Council meeting, it's been a busy week. But after Wednesday's bombshell resignation, Leo Varadkar's life is now totally different

Sat, 23 Mar, 2024

Letters to the Editor: Michael Healy Rae should be commended for his chairing

Letters to the Editor: Michael Healy Rae should be commended for his chairing

Our readers discuss the Oireachtas joint committee on assisted dying, the lack of home care supports, Varadkar's stepping down, the children of Gaza, and National Spring Clean

Sat, 23 Mar, 2024

BELGIUM-EU-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY-SUMMIT

Palestinian stance marks Varadkar's valedictory achievement on world stage

The EU has finally arrived at a unified position calling for an ‘immediate humanitarian pause’ given the crisis in Gaza

Fri, 22 Mar, 2024

BELGIUM-EU-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY-SUMMIT

Ireland will recognise Palestine when 'the circumstances are right', says Varadkar

In a joint statement with the prime ministers of Malta, Slovenia and Spain, the Taoiseach said the countries are ready to recognise Palestinian independence

Fri, 22 Mar, 2024

RTE report

Paul Hosford: McEntee 'was never interested in Fine Gael leadership'

Helen McEntee was never interested in the Fine Gael leadership. So she says, at least.

Thu, 21 Mar, 2024

Simon Harris' pre-dawn offensive removed potential rivals before breakfast

Simon Harris' pre-dawn offensive removed potential rivals before breakfast

Harris has never been shy about his political ambitions and had a line of TDs, senators and MEPs waiting to come out in support

Thu, 21 Mar, 2024

Coronavirus - Fri Mar 12, 2021

Eamon Quinn: Varadkar had enormous tax resources to fight three economic crises since 2017

Separate storms of Brexit, covid, and cost-of-living crisis

Thu, 21 Mar, 2024

Irish Examiner view: Emotional end to tumultuous career

Irish Examiner view: Emotional end to tumultuous career

The Taoiseach as technocrat is a distinctive political identity, one which can be traced back to Garret FitzGerald and perhaps even as far as Seán Lemass. Mr Varadkar’s conservative affect has a fair pedigree.

Thu, 21 Mar, 2024

Leo Varadkar steps down as Taoiseach

Body language of Leo Varadkar's colleagues may hint at their ambitions

While the loss of their leader was item one on the agenda, the six Fine Gael luminaries on the steps of Government Buildings may have had succession on their minds

Wed, 20 Mar, 2024

Varadkar resignation: 'Strong argument' that Micheál Martin 'should take over as Taoiseach'

Varadkar resignation: 'Strong argument' that Micheál Martin 'should take over as Taoiseach'

Fianna Fáil members have called on Tánaiste Micheál Martin to say he should reassume the role of Taoiseach

Wed, 20 Mar, 2024

ieExplains: What happens now Varadkar has resigned? Will there be an election?

ieExplains: What happens now Varadkar has resigned? Will there be an election?

When will we have a new Taoiseach? Your questions answered

Wed, 20 Mar, 2024

'My reasons for stepping down now are personal and political': Read Leo Varadkar's speech in full

Elaine Loughlin: Some 'caught on the hop' but writing was on the wall for Varadkar's resignation

As far back as 2015, Varadkar had admitted that he wouldn't be in politics for life and, having reached the top office, he now bows out on his own terms, writes Elaine Loughlin

Wed, 20 Mar, 2024

Leo Varadkar has resigned. Who is going to replace him (and who is not)?

Leo Varadkar has resigned. Who is going to replace him (and who is not)?

Here’s who’s in the mix

Wed, 20 Mar, 2024

'My reasons for stepping down now are personal and political': Read Leo Varadkar's speech in full

'My reasons for stepping down now are personal and political': Read Leo Varadkar's speech in full

The Taoiseach said he will 'keep working for Ireland and my community in any way I can in the future'

Wed, 20 Mar, 2024

'We give it everything until we can’t anymore': Varadkar resigns as Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader

'We give it everything until we can’t anymore': Varadkar resigns as Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader

Speaking outside Government Buildings, Mr Varadkar said that he had done 'some soul searching' and that the 'time is now for him' to step down

Wed, 20 Mar, 2024

Taoiseach visit to the US

Government will overcome civil servants' 'resistance' to protocol for people with disabilities — Taoiseach

Mr Varadkar also revealed that carers are set to receive a State contributory pension and tax credits for stay-at-home parents are to be improved

Tue, 19 Mar, 2024

Ireland to vote

Letters to the Editor: Votes abroad the price of green jersey

One reader writes in to say that if Ireland wishes to keep citizens abroad engaged, then the 'least that can be done is to give us a vote'

Tue, 19 Mar, 2024

Close up of woman receiving botox injection in lips

There will always be a 'black market' for Botox-type treatments, Taoiseach warns

Taoiseach said new laws would help protect consumers from unregulated practitioners

Tue, 19 Mar, 2024