Varadkar open to accusations of hypocrisy over jet use

Leo Varadkar laid himself open to accusations of hypocrisy last night after he criticised media interest in the use of the government jet during an attack on journalistic standards at the MacGill summer school.

It was a different story erupting from the Donegal think-in in 2010 when Mr Varadkar, then in opposition, seized on newspaper revelations that then transport minister Noel Dempsey had used the government jet to fly from Dublin to Derry to attend the MacGill conference.

Ridiculing Dempsey’s claim he had to use the jet, which costs nearly €8,000 an hour to fly, because he could not get a commercial flight, Mr Varadkar said he had flown to Donegal to attend the think-in for just €55.