Varadkar and Healy-Rae trade 'looking down your nose at me' barbs in Dáil row

The argument erupted during Leaders' Questions after Michael Healy-Rae raised the issue of a proposed liquified natural gas facility in North Kerry

The Kerry TD accused the Tánaiste of thinking he was a 'big shot', which Mr Varadkar characterised as 'not nice'. File picture: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae both laid accusations of "looking down their nose" at each other in a Dáil row.

Mr Varadkar and Mr Healy-Rae had the argument during Leaders' Questions on Tuesday after Mr Healy-Rae raised the issue of a proposed liquified natural gas (LNG) facility in North Kerry. He said after Mr Varadkar had voiced opposition to the project, Fine Gael TDs and councillors had raced to Tarbert to "stand on the landbank" and support the project.

Government policy is against the use of LNG, with Green Party TD Neasa Hourigan saying it is "foundational" to the Coalition. Mr Healy-Rae said this represented Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael "selling their souls" to the Green Party, saying Mr Varadkar had specifically "sold his soul to the Green Party to be Tánaiste and Taoiseach" and said Mr Varadkar had sought "power at all costs". 

He added that the Tánaiste had not given full answers to other speakers.

In response, Mr Varadkar said he had given comprehensive answers to other leaders and "the fact that [Mr Healy-Rae] didn't like it or understand it" was "more of a reflection on you than it is on me, quite frankly". 

'Won't block' LNG facility

He said the programme for government had been agreed by his party and the other Government parties, and that a planning application was with An Bord Pleanála for the LNG facility. He said if the plan was given the green light, the Government "won't block it".

"However, we believe that the future, and it's the future that we stand for, when it comes to energy has to be about price stability and has to be about energy security. We don't believe that importing natural gas or fracked gas, or importing any fuel, in fact, is what is going to provide us with energy security and price stability. 

"The reason why we're facing the problems that we now face, precisely because we have to import oil, coal, and gas from Russia, from the Middle East, from Venezuela, and from other parts of the world, it's not a good position to be.

"And that's why I stand for the future and that's why you stand for the past."

The Kerry TD said this was "a dig" and said the Government's stance that it would not block the facility was disingenuous.

"When I heard some of the nonsense that you come out with, my goodness, you're no man to look down your nose at me, as if I was doing something that you stood up on. I'm elected here every bit as good as you are and maybe even better."

Mr Healy-Rae said Mr Varadkar "looked down his nose" at him because he "is a big shot", comments which the Tánaiste called "not nice".

"The truth is you look down on me. You think that because I'm from Dublin, because I'm middle-class, because I have the accent that I have that, somehow, I don't understand real people. But you're wrong, deputy. I'm elected just as much as you are," said Mr Varadkar.

He said Mr Healy Rae had turned down a Cabinet position in 2016 because he had been afraid to make tough decisions and had "run a mile" from the job.

Afterwards, a spokesperson for Mr Varadkar said: “The Tánaiste was responding to a series of remarks from the deputy which were very personalised and an attempt to portray the Tánaiste as not being a ‘normal’ or ‘ordinary’ person, unlike himself.

“He asked the deputy to reflect on the matter, think about it, and come back and take it back if he wanted to. We won’t be commenting further.”