‘Don’t shirk health policy’: Enda Kenny attempts to defuse spat with Leo Varadkar

Enda Kenny moved to try and defuse tension with his health minister after warning Leo Varadkar not to "shirk" Government policy.

At Fine Gael’s parliamentary party gathering in Fota Island, Cork, Mr Kenny attempted to draw a line under the public spat by telling TDs and senators that he and Mr Varadkar were working as a team to sort out the country’s problems.

The remarks came after Mr Varadkar denied he had apologised to the Taoiseach for speculating that workers could be between €5-€10 a week better off in next month’s budget, and refusing to say if plans to bring in free GP care for children under the age of six would go ahead as planned this year.

While acknowledging the sharp rebuke delivered to him by the Taoiseach, Mr Varadkar insisted he would still fight for bigger health spending in the budget.

“I don’t mind being slapped down or scolded,” said Mr Varadkar. “I’m a big boy and I’m willing to take a degree of criticism from time to time but, at the same time, this isn’t about me, it’s not about my dignity, it’s not about my ego. It’s about frontline staff and it’s about patients and it’s about our health services which affect all of us.

“The Taoiseach was very clear that he doesn’t want ministers to be speculating about the details of the budget and he’s totally right about that.

“But at the same time I’m the minister for health. I believe I have a responsibility to defend health services and I am going to continue to do that and, as well as that, I am very committed to health sector reform, but that has to happen in a way that is workable and deliverable and I think the Taoiseach understands that very well.”

However, the Taoiseach issued a warning to Mr Varadkar that he could not “shirk” policy on free GP care.

Referring to Mr Varadkar’s comments that the plan for free GP care for children under six could not be implemented without the agreement of the IMO, Mr Kenny said: “He’s quite right to be able to reflect on that, but he is not shirking what Government policy is here.”

In response to Mr Varadkar’s claim there could be a €10 a week tax cut in the budget, Mr Kenny said no cabinet decisions had yet been made on taxes.

Mr Kenny also attacked senior health department officials who “annoyed” him by stating in a briefing paper for Mr Varadkar that his predecessor James Reilly’s plans for universal health insurance were “unworkable”.

“What annoyed me was the fact that when a new minister goes over to the department, that they’d obviously been preparing for his arrival and presented him with a document of what I understand was 300 pages indicating what you cannot do,” Mr Kenny told Newstalk.

Referring to political comedy Yes Minister and calling civil servants “Sir Humphreys”, the Taoiseach added: “Sir Humphreys, if you like to call it that, presented the new minister with a very large document of ‘why you cannot go ahead here’.”

Mr Varadkar said he “respected” Mr Kenny’s leadership, and Finance Minister Michael Noonan said he had “spoken” to the health minister about his tax remarks.