Taoiseach rejects request to meet with McDonald over Varadkar investigation

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald's request for a meeting with the Taoiseach to discuss the matter has been rejected.

Sinn Fén leader Mary Lou McDonald has sought a meeting with the Taoiseach about Leo Varadkar's document leak. Photo: Sasko Lazarov/Rollingnews.ie

The Taoiseach has rejected Mary Lou McDonald's request to meet over the ongoing criminal investigation into Leo Varadkar.

A spokesperson for the Taoiseach said: "The Taoiseach received a letter last night and gets letters on a very regular basis from Mary Lou McDonald.

"In many instances, these letters are purely political. It’s a tactic used on a far too frequent basis by the SF leader and it lacks sincerity.

"The Taoiseach has no intention of responding on this occasion."

The Garda investigation into Mr Varadkar’s sharing of the document with Dr Maitiú Ó Tuathail is now a criminal matter and opposition TDs have called on the Tánaiste to stand aside without prejudice while it remains a live issue.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald says it is "beyond the beyonds" that anyone would anyone defend Leo Varadkar's leaking of a confidential document.

"Let me repeat, the criminal matter of this is for the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and their investigation is under way," Ms McDonald said.

"The criminal element of this and the investigative end of it isn't my business or my affair.

Ms McDonald says by Mr Varadkar's own admission, he acted inappropriately and Micheál Martin should call on the Tánaiste to stand aside.

"This was the Taoiseach, this was the head of government. This was a draft GP contract. This was a document that the health minister, couldn't get his hands on, this was a document that the Department of Health, said could not be published without the consent or knowledge of the IMO because it could jeopardise the whole process.

Had a civil servant, acted in the same way as the head of government, we wouldn't be having this conversation because that individual would have been sacked.

"For this reason, it underscores the seriousness of what's happened."

Sinn Féin moved a no confidence motion against Mr Varadkar in November, but it was not successful,

"By Leo Varadkar's own assurances and admission, the facts here are not in dispute. The document was leaked, it was leaked to a third party, who was a friend of the Tánaiste — then-Taoiseach — and who was the head of a rival organisation."

Leo Varadkar has said he doesn't know what he is accused of and that he learned of the upgraded criminal probe through the media.

Speaking on Newstalk, he said, "As of today, no police authority and no public body has been in touch with me to tell me what I'm accused of, what crime or law I may have broken, and what evidence they have to support that.

"I'm basing pretty much everything on what I read in media reports. What I do know is that a complaint was made to the Gardai four or five months ago.

"As I understand it, from a legal adviser and solicitors, the only investigations that Gardaí do are criminal investigations; they don't carry out civil investigations. If they were taking statements, and it appears they took at least one statement as far back as January, that's what you do in an investigation, so it's probably been probably in a full investigation all along but, like I say, I can't account for what other people are putting in the media, it's not coming from me.

"They've taken some statements, they haven't been in contact with me yet. I have offered to meet them. I've offered to be interviewed, to make a statement, sworn under caution, whatever is necessary because I'm keen to have this matter concluded, but when I do make that statement, it's going to be much the same as the one that I made in the Dáil last November, because the facts haven't changed.

"I shared a document with the then president of the NAGP in a way that was inappropriate. I came forward in the Dáil. I apologised for it.

"I didn't do anything illegal or corrupt or self interested, there was no personal gain, no personal benefits, I did no harm to anyone conferred no advantage."

Mr Varadkar added that the fact Ms McDonald wants to meet the Taoiseach over this issue "says a lot about her priorities".