Varadkar survives vote of no confidence in Dáil

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar again apologised again for his actions and said: "While my motivations were sound, the manner in which I conducted myself was not."

The Oireachtas has voted confidence in Leo Varadkar by 92 to 65.

The Sinn Féin motion was proposed in response to the then-Taoiseach's leaking of a confidential document to a friend during negotiations over a multimillion-euro GP contract.

The two-hour debate heard mostly from Fine Gael and Sinn Féin TDs who took aim at each other on a number of issues. 

Both sides compared the other to US President Donald Trump.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the motion was a "100% cynical move" as lessons had been learned "all-round" and all accepted that the Tanaiste's actions should not have happened.

"I profoundly reject the idea of putting partisan maneuvering into every issue. Sinn Féin is entitled to practice the politics of always looking for an angle and participating in attacking a government at the same time. I and my party simply don't agree.

"I see no purpose in using my time in this debate to address the ever-rising examples of Sinn Féin ignoring basic ethical standards."

Unlike the Taoiseach, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil TDs spent much of their time listing Sinn Féin's many alleged transgressions and accused the party of "theatre" and "headline-grabbing" by proposing the motion.

Minister Heather Humphreys said Mary Lou McDonald's party is "the party of multiple mysterious bank accounts, the party that denigrates victims, the party that operates under a toxic culture of secrecy bullying and intimidation".

"You pontificate about a golden circle when Sinn Féin is the richest party in this country," she said.

"You had the gall to accuse this government of burying records, when victims of the IRA across this country are still buried, and their families are still awaiting the truth from Sinn Féin. Talk to Breege Quinn, talk to Austin Stack, talk to the family of Columba McVeigh, or Tom Oliver."

Mary Lou McDonald said her party had no option but to table the motion due to the fact the Tánaiste had not been sanctioned.

"This is a very Fine Gael thing," she said. "Government argues this was a technical or procedural error, not best practice. They say it bears no relevance to the bread and butter issues facing ordinary people but how very wrong they are.

"It's about access to power. It's about what decisions are made, and in whose interests, in the interests of ordinary people, or vested interests, ministers friends and personal contacts."

She said people are entitled to much better from the government "playing by the rulebook of the old boy's network".

The Tánaiste apologised again for his actions and said: "While my motivations were sound, the manner in which I conducted myself was not. I regret it and have learned from it," before launching his own attack at Sinn Féin.

"The truth is that for them politics is a just game, every flash of outrage, every passionate speech, every tear choked back is a tactical move. Their spokespeople are articulate, confident and totally insincere."