Repeal movement is bringing out the best in our politicians

Leo Varadkar’s reaction to the Kerry Babies case and his apology to Joanne Hayes hit the right note as the leader of our country, writes Terry Prone.

The Taoiseach says that until the last week or so, he didn’t know the significance of the Kerry Babies’ tragedy. It was all over long before he was old enough to be paying attention. Going to prove that you can’t win in politics, one commentator immediately suggested that even if he was a very small kid at the time, his ignorance of the issue proved he had made inadequate study of history.

Seriously? Nonsense. The notion that any 39-year-old Irishman or woman — even if they’ve entered politics — should devote themselves to learning and understanding every scandal in the extensive array of such scandals to be found in Ireland’s social history is daft.