Government insist Máire Whelan be appointed ahead of Dáil reconvening

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar demanded President Michael D Higgins ratify Máire Whelan’s controversial Court of Appeal appointment before the Dáil’s return today in a formal letter on Sunday evening, the Irish Examiner can reveal.

President Higgins was forced to rush through the €180,000-a-year appointment due to the sudden and unexpected pressure placed on him by the new Taoiseach.

Mr Varadkar, in London yesterday, acknowledged the scandal has overshadowed his first week in office, saying: “I would not have liked to have my first week in office to have been affected by a controversy over a judicial appointment.”