Martin under pressure to condemn Varadkar's GP contract actions

Taoiseach Micheál Martin did not release a statement even after Tánaiste Leo Varadkar admitted sending a government contract to a friend.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has come under pressure from Government TDs to condemn the actions of Tánaiste Leo Varadkar.

Mr Martin has been lobbied by Fianna Fáil representatives to speak out more forcefully after Mr Varadkar admitted sending a government contract to a friend, former president of the National Association of General Practitioners (NAGP), Maitiú Ó Tuathail.

Fianna Fáil TDs are said to be furious that Mr Martin did not himself release a statement even after the Tánaiste admitted that he had sent the contract to Dr Ó Tuathail and admitted it was "not best practice".

Some have said that their colleagues Dara Calleary and Barry Cowen were both forced to resign from their ministry for what they regarded as lesser transgressions.

The controversy has been sparked by an article in Village Magazine on Saturday which alleged that then-taoiseach Mr Varadkar leaked a contract agreed with the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) to a rival group at a sensitive time in negotiations, which Mr Varadkar said is "both inaccurate and grossly defamatory" as the agreement had essentially already been made public. 

Michael Smith, editor of the Village Magazine, said he "absolutely 100%" stands by the story, despite Mr Varadkar's response.

Dáil records show that Opposition TDs and some doctors had not seen the contract detail when Mr Varadkar couriered it to Dr Ó Tuathail between April 11 and April 17, 2019.

"We received a copy of the finalised, agreed and announced programme for chronic disease management from the then Taoiseach in mid-April," said Dr Ó Tuathail in a statement released on Sunday night.

"This was seen as a continuation of the decision by the Government to consult with the NAGP and its GP members and keep them informed throughout.

“It was wrong for one group of GPs to have access to the details of a chronic disease management programme, and for another group of GPs not to have equal access to that information, given that the NAGP and its members were involved in its formation.” 

Mr Varadkar is expected to answer questions in the Dáil about the incident on Tuesday.

"If it was anyone other than himself, he’d have thrown them under the bus on Saturday morning," said one Government TD.

"Same applies to Micheál Martin if it was one of Fianna Fáil. It’s a clear breach of code. He should be gone."

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said that "it's not common" for the Taoiseach to share information marked "confidential".

"He said very clearly it wasn't best practice," said Mr Donohoe.

"He acknowledged it could have been done differently, but it's very important to emphasise that when the information was shared it was after a negotiation had concluded in relation to the agreement."

Fine Gael was said to be "circling the wagons" over the weekend with senior figures calling some backbenchers to quell any concerns.

"We're not sensing anything from Leo that there's anything else to come, no smoking gun," said one senior party figure.

"I'm not getting a sense of a big panic, it doesn't seem to have resonated with the public."

Opposition politicians say they do not accept Mr Varadkar's explanation of events and say the incident has damaged trust in the Government to negotiate with public sector groups.

"The Tánaiste is hiding behind excuses here, and he has to accept that this was absolutely and completely unacceptable and inappropriate," said Sinn Féin's health spokesperson David Cullinane.

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty has called for the Competition Commission to investigate the sharing of confidential information with the GPs’ group.

The Competition Commission has long warned that competition law applies to trade associations or “groups of undertakings” under competition law, saying trade associations “need to be careful not to coordinate activity of their members, especially in relation to pricing issues”.