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Sinn F\u00e9in has raised fresh questions over the leaking of a confidential GP contract by Leo Varadkar while he was Taoiseach.<\/p>\nSinn F\u00e9in has raised fresh questions over the leaking of a confidential GP contract by Leo Varadkar while he was Taoiseach.<\/p>\n
Donegal TD Pearse Doherty said records released under the Freedom of Information act have shown that then-minister for health Simon Harris was unable to obtain a copy of the contract himself.<\/p>\n
The records also contained warnings from Department of Health officials that publication of the proposed contract for GPs in the Irish Medical Organization (IMO) \u201cwould represent a serious breach of trust\u201d.<\/p>\n
In addition, there are no written records of a request from Mr Varadkar to the Department asking for a copy of the contract, Mr Doherty said.<\/p>\n
Mr Varadkar has previously admitted to giving a copy of the contract to his friend Dr Maiti\u00fa \u00d3 Tuathail, who at the time was president of the National Association of General Practitioners (NAGP), a rival of the IMO, in April 2019.<\/p>\n
Mr Doherty told the D\u00e1il: \u201cIt is a scandal that goes far deeper than what we once thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey show in the documents that at the same time you leaked this document, that the line minister responsible for the negotiations, Simon Harris was unable to obtain a contract from his officials.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is despite Simon Harris telling the D\u00e1il in November that he never requested a copy of the contract.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe must explain for his actions, and he must correct the record of the D\u00e1il.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithin the documents I received there are repeated warnings from the Department officials reiterating the confidentiality of the document and that it was still subject to negotiations with the IMO.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cOn the 25th of April, a Department official noted \u2018unilateral publication of the agreement, in the absence of confirmation from the IMO that it is satisfied with the final text, would represent a serious breach of trust\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy that stage, you had already leaked the document to the president of the NAGP, your friend.\u201d <\/p>\n
Mr Varadkar responded that he had already apologized for his actions in the D\u00e1il last November, and accused Sinn F\u00e9in of \u201ctrying to reheat an old political controversy\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said there were no written records related to his request for the document at the Department because he had requested it verbally.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cMy motivation, as I explained back in November, was to demonstrate to the president of the NAGP that this was a deal that they shouldn\u2019t oppose, to mollify their opposition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Varadkar previously told the D\u00e1il that he had been provided with a copy of the draft contract agreement by Simon Harris on April 4th or 5th 2019.<\/p>\n
He then requested a second copy, which was provided by one of his advisers, on April 10th.<\/p>\n
Mr Harris then sought an updated copy of the final contract on April 15th, ahead of a D\u00e1il debate.<\/p>\n
He was provided with a copy on April 17th.<\/p>\n
Mr Doherty said the FOI records included explanations from officials at the Department of Health as to why Mr Harris had been refused a copy of the document prior to then.<\/p>\n
Mr Doherty then told Mr Varadkar: \u201cYour argument simply doesn\u2019t hold up.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe contract was confidential, negotiations were ongoing. But despite all of this, you leaked this document in full knowledge of the consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n