Daniel McConnell: Tánaiste's attack on Nphet brings unnecessary heat on the government

Perhaps driven by some focus group research which told him that bashing Nphet is a winner among Fine Gael voters, Varadkar let loose on Claire Byrne Live. Picture: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

The day began with Tánaiste Leo Varadkar’s severe kicking of Dr Tony Holohan and team ringing loudly in our ears.

The pointed attacks by Mr Varadkar on the Chief Medical Officer and the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) appalled many, including some within his own government.

In explaining the government’s clear unhappiness and frustration with Nphet’s decision to recommend moving the entire country to level 5 on Sunday night, Mr Varadkar gave voice to the severe anger behind the scenes about what went on.

He departed from the considered script and tone adopted by Taoiseach Micheál Martin just moments before on the steps of Government Buildings.

The Taoiseach and his inner team recognised the value of going softly on Nphet despite the very real sense of grievance on how matters were handled on Sunday.

Mr Martin sought to extol the virtues of Nphet even when he was setting out the reasons for rejecting its call for a move to level 5.

In contrast, as one minister said, Mr Varadkar, the petulant prince of self-promotion, played the man and not the ball in his Claire Byrne interview.

Perhaps driven by some focus group research which told him that bashing Nphet is a winner among Fine Gael voters, Varadkar let loose.

He was scathing in his criticism of Nphet for its Sunday night recommendation which he blasted "was not thought through" and "should not have happened".

He hit out at Nphet for "landing this on us as a surprise".

"That shouldn't have happened, The CMO accepted it and it will not happen again," Mr Varadkar said.

While he said he did not call the Nphet recommendation "crazy" he was clearly angry at the lack of prior consultation. He said the Nphet suggestion 'came out of the blue' on Sunday night and he revealed they had proposed a short, sharp one-month 'circuit break'. He added: "The problem we had with the proposal was that we didn't feel it had been thought through properly."

So cutting were the remarks from the man who will be Taoiseach again, that the tenability of Dr Honohan’s position was an open question.

Indeed, when talk of the CMO being in Government Buildings again began yesterday, rumours began to circulate that he was about to throw in the towel.

It turned out he was there to speak to the Government’s Secretary General on how to patch things up.

Varadkar's comments dominated the news and political agenda yesterday and while Fine Gael ministers backed their man, Fianna Fáil struck a decidedly different tone throughout the day.

Yesterday morning, Michael McGrath, the Public Expenditure Minister spoke of how “difficult” the past couple of days have been and talked of the need for a “reboot” of the relationship with Nphet.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly in a radio interview studiously avoided mentioning Mr Varadkar’s comments and struck a far more conciliatory tone toward Dr Holohan and Nphet. Ditto European Affairs minister Thomas Byrne a short while later.

He said that he “disagreed” with Mr Varadkar’s choice of words and again spoke up repeatedly as to the value of Nphet and the great work it has done.

However, in contrast, Justice Minister Helen McEntee loyally defended her leader.

She said that the Government had full confidence in the CMO and Nphet. The Tánaiste’s comments had been as a result of frustration.
What had happened on Sunday in terms of the leaking of the Nphet recommendation to move to Level 5 had been very public which was unfortunate and it was understandable that Mr Varadkar had been frustrated about how that had happened, she said.

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe backed him too, saying his leader was reflecting the scale of the concern within government.

At a post Cabinet briefing for political correspondents, the Tánaiste’s spokesman said he "absolutely" stood over his comments about Dr Holohan and Nphet.

While we were told the Varadkar row was not discussed at Cabinet, even if that is to be believed, the Tánaiste’s comments certainly overshadowed all other matters.

Away from the noise of Mr Varadkar’s ill-judged and ill-tempered attack on Nphet, the decision of government to divert from the advice of their own medical experts is a significant event and will have far-reaching consequences in the weeks and months ahead.