Leo Varadkar says probe into leaked GP contract document 'unnecessary'
Former taoiseach Leo Varadkar's new book, due to be published this week, details the highs and lows of his political career including the personal impact they had on him and those around him.
Picture: Fran Veale/Julien Behal Photography
Former taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said the investigation into allegations he had leaked a confidential GP contract document to a friend was "unnecessary".
In his memoir, , Mr Varadkar said he still struggles to understand why so much time and money was spent on the investigation.
He was never charged with any offence in relation to the matter.
"Sometimes, in darker moments, I wondered if the lengthy, expensive investigation was someone’s revenge for my role in the [Maurice] McCabe affair, and the resignation of former commissioners," Mr Varadkar wrote.
The McCabe affair saw the resignation of former Garda commissioner Martin Callinan in 2014 while Nóirín O'Sullivan stood down in 2017.
Then-transport minister Mr Varadkar had called for Mr Callinan to withdraw remarks describing the actions of whistleblower Mr McCabe as "disgusting".
Ms O'Sullivan's resignation came after Mr Varadkar said people in the public sector losing their jobs over scandals "needs to happen a little bit more".
Mr Varadkar revealed in his memoir that he had informed party colleague Simon Coveney during the lengthy investigation that he had made the decision if he was charged, he would resign.
This, of course, did not come to pass and he did not exit politics until March 2024 on his own terms.
The former Fine Gael leader's new book, due to be published this week, details the highs and lows of his political career including the personal impact they had on him and those around him.
Among the incidents included in the book was the posting of a video on social media of Mr Varadkar kissing a man at a Dublin nightclub who was not his long-time partner, Matt.
Mr Varadkar wrote about his concern in the moment when he was told the video was being shared on WhatsApp for the man he had kissed who he calls Conor (not his real name).
"I was particularly worried for ‘Conor’. He lived in rural Ireland and wasn’t out to all his family. He played on a GAA team and wasn’t out to all of them either," an extract from the book reads.
Speaking to Conor on the phone, Mr Varadkar said: "They were going after me, not you. What kind of a person does that?"
However, Mr Varadkar said he was lucky to live in Ireland where "the media and politicians tend to resect each other's privacy".
"Most ignored it, and it was clear that most people didn’t want to discuss it either. In America, Britain and many other places, politicians’ families, homes and private lives are fair game," he said.
Just one politician, he noted, "thought it appropriate to raise in the Oireachtas" referring to Senator Rónán Mullen.
While Mr Varadkar said he usually kept nights out tame, that night in particular "got a bit out of hand" and he had told his plainclothes protection officers they could stay outside the door.
Gay nightclubs are different to straight clubs, the Dubliner observed, they are considered a safe space to experiment in.
"The LGBT community — even those who despised my politics or their perception of them — rallied behind me as never before.
"They objected to a safe space being violated, the breach of privacy, and any attempt at shaming," Mr Varadkar said.
