Varadkar faces calls to resign over GP contract leak

While Leo Varadkar refuted any suggestion of illegality, Rise TD Paul Murphy said the controversy merited the Tánaiste's departure from office.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has faced calls in the Dáil to resign over his leaking of a copy of the GP deal to his friend in April 2019.

Addressing TDs over the controversy, a visibly rattled Mr Varadkar said that allegations he had anything to gain from leaking a confidential GP contract document to a friend were “false and without foundation".

Mr Varadkar confirmed he posted the document to his friend, the former president of the National Association of General Practitioners (NAGP), Dr Maitiú Ó Tuathail, despite the group not being formally involved in the contract negotiations which were held with a rival group, the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO).

While Mr Varadkar refuted any suggestion of illegality, Rise TD Paul Murphy said the controversy merited the Tánaiste's departure from office.

Details of messages between Mr Varadkar and Dr Ó Tuathail were read out in the Dáil, in which Mr Varadkar said there may still be some changes made to the contract "so don’t take it as gospel”.

When questioned on this, he said that all agreements are subject to amendment.

He repeated he had never shared any other document in the same fashion, either before or after.

When asked what Dr Ó Tuathail meant by saying "Leo always delivers" in a text when he received the contract, Mr Varadkar replied: "I think it's clear that Dr Ó Tuathail gave the impression of being closer to me than he was", saying he was "the kind of friend I would meet two or three times a year," adding: "We're not best mates or anything."