Varadkar accuses Doherty of having 'abused and mistreated' garda amid Dáil row

The Dáil say a series of bitter and personal exchanges take place during Leaders' Questions 

Leo Varadkar and Pearse Doherty were involved in a series of bitter and personal exchanges in the Dáil today.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and Sinn Féin’s finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty were involved in a series of bitter and personal exchanges during Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil.

The proceedings had been dominated by the cost-of-living situation with Mr Varadkar earlier rejecting calls for an emergency budget to deal with the crisis.

While Mr Doherty made reference to the file sent to the DPP over the investigation into the GP contract leak involving the Tánaiste, Mr Varadkar accused Mr Doherty of having “abused and mistreated” a garda which resulted in him being arrested and prosecuted in court.

Leaders’ Questions kicked off with Mr Doherty referencing a private dinner hosted by Mr Varadkar marking a decade of Fine Gael being in power.

He contrasted that with the ESRI at the same time completing a report which showed that almost three in 10 households in the country live in energy poverty.

Mr Varadkar said that this was a “cheap shot coming from a hypocritical party” and accused Sinn Féin of receiving money from “vagabonds”.

He also said that party leader Mary Lou McDonald was about to embark on a trip to Australia where she would be “clinking champagne glasses” and flying “first-class”. The event in question is the Trinity College Dublin alumni dinner in Sydney next month.

Mr Doherty later shot back that the Tánaiste's “opening gambit” showed how “out of touch” he was.

“I really thought someone, who in which the DPP is currently assessing if they’re prosecuting you under the corruption act, would be more humble in your response,” he said.

The Tánaiste replied that Mr Doherty had taken a “personal shot” at him. “It was particularly strange coming from you because you were prosecuted,” he told the Dáil. 

“You abused, mistreated a Garda Síochána. For that you were prosecuted, you were found guilty. Yes, you got away without a conviction because of your age at the time. That’s what happened to you.”