FG senators at Golfgate dinner did not intend to break rules, Tánaiste tells colleagues

Mr Varadkar said he accepts the court verdict that no laws or rules were broken and that the trio attended in good faith

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar. File Picture: Gareth Chaney/ Collins Photos

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has told his Fine Gael party that three senators who lost the party whip after attending the Golfgate dinner in 2020 did not intend to break any rules.

Paddy Burke, John Cummins and Jerry Buttimer all lost the party whip the day after the Irish Examiner revealed their attendance at the Oireachtas Golf Society dinner. 

However, sources said that Mr Varadkar said on Wednesday that he would examine the process of disciplining members for events outside of voting against the party and whether a motion should have been passed by the parliamentary party in order to do remove the whip from the three.

The Tánaiste confirmed that he met with the three Senators who attended the dinner in Clifden in August 2020. 

Mr Varadkar said that he accepts the verdict of the court that no laws or rules were broken and accepts the trio attended in good faith with no intention to break laws or rules. 

However, he also acknowledged that the country had just been asked to cancel events and he feels this event should also have been canceled.

Sources said that Mr Varadkar was also challenged by Kildare North TD Bernard Durkan on the direction of the party. 

One source said that Mr Durkan "got stuck into" the Tánaiste, but that Mr Varadkar had "bit back" and strongly refuted the suggestion that the party was doomed to lose the next election. Mr Durkan is understood to have called for Fine Gael members to be more supportive and defensive of one another.

Mr Varadkar told the meeting that new rules around Covid testing were possible because Ireland is in a "different place" now than before with increased immunity, in time that will wane, there may be new variants as we face into another winter, and it is not over. 

Senator Tim Lombard is understood to have raised the fact that unvaccinated people will be able access free PCR testing along with those over 55, the medically vulnerable and healthcare workers.

A motion by Mayo TD Michael Ring on moving passport services to the Department of Social Protection was not put to a vote at the meeting after Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney explained this cannot be looked into until the Passport Office IT systems are upgraded, work on which is ongoing. 

He acknowledged there have been delays but turnaround times are improving, highlighting that Passport Office staff will be increased to 900 by the end of March, and adult passport renewals are ahead of target.