Vote of no confidence: Heather Humphries says: "We are dealing with a party with mysterious bank accounts, Sinn Fein is the richest party in the country, victims of the IRA are buried across this country. Talk to Breege Quinn, Austin Stack or the family of Columba McVeigh."
HH: "You have introduced a Trump-like nastiness into Irish politics. Your social media army mobilises and targets journalists and politicians."
ML: "The old guard came together to keep change out and hold back progress. When he was Taoiseach LV leaked a confidential document to his friend. This is the only sanction available to us as the opposition."
ML: "Mud slinging won't alter the facts. The facts are LV leaked info to this friend, the defence that it was in the public domain are threadbare. There is no acceptable reason for what happened. This was a conscious decision to leak and now the current Taoiseach stands idly by."
ML: "The truth is if a junior civil servant leaked, they would be sacked-end of story. He was the head of government, the greatest need of honest conduct and greater demand of accountability. Insider cosy politics that has done so much damage to our country. "
ML: "This is a very Fine Gael thing. Gov argue it was not best practice and bears no relevance to bread butter issues but how wrong they are. This is about access to power and what decisions are made and in whose interests."
ML: "Our people are entitled to much better than the old boys network. This cosy club is why they fail people. I could stand here and delve into FG's corruption and tribunals and scandals and it would take all night & would get us nowhere. This isn't about the past."
ML: "Its politics where Brian Hayes moves seamlessly from Fine Gael to the chief lobbyist for the banks. Michael Darcy having failed miserably to reign in the insurance industry moves from DoF to world of high finance."
ML: "After 4 months this coalition has been riven with scandal. LV has undermined politics, government and the state. The old ways will not be tolerated under SF in opposition. We're calling time on the cosy club."
Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: "The gov ask us to accept his explanation in leaking, Labour told the Tanaiste to tell the truth, to apologise and there may have been a way out, but he chose not to do that and persisted with lying that he leaked for good."
AOR: "Should any trade union have confidence they can negotiate with this government in good faith? The fact is in all honesty they can't. LV has shown no interest in protecting workers in this pandemic."
AOR: "He humiliated a public official and NPHET on national television. He is not a friend of the worker and not a friend of transparent politics."
AOR: "SF want to present themselves as the ethical left against the old boys club, we offer them advice, it's not good enough to accept £4m from England and move it around, or take racist American money."
AOR: "Ethics in public life is important not just when it suits you. This isn't a choice between Varadkar and populist nationalism. Despite harsh words we have confidence in many individuals in this Oireachtas, this does not extend to the Tanaiste."
Paschal Donohoe: "Leo Varadkar's politics are the politics of decency and trying to do the right thing. His empathy and decisiveness in leading the country through of Covid19 and his unstinting support for managing the economy."
PD: "Contrast that with SF. Their single transferable critique of our political system. SF occupies the high moral ground and would have us believe their interest only in the public good, they know themselves this is rhetoric. SF do not appeal to the better angels of our nature."
PD: "It is deeply cynical politics. For EU but against any treaty. For jobs and business but against any decision. That is the politics of division, the defining feature of their politics. It positions itself on the side of ordinary people, it's more in bed with big money."
Eoin O'Broin: "This is about low standards. When Simon Harris was asked to leak this document, he refused. LV gave it to an org who stood to gain from securing privileged info. The claim it was in the public interest is not credible. The fact is he broke the rules."
EOB: "Just because he was head of government doesn't mean standards don't apply. How many former FG are corporate lobbyists? Enda, Brian, Darcy and I could name many more, FG is fertile ground for lobbyists who trade in influence. Ordinary people pay for insider trading."
EOB: "Banks are bailed out, mortgage holders are left to fend for themselves. TDs have a clear choice. It is time to end low standards in high places."
Roisin Shorthall: "LV engaged in an action which was wrong. He should've apologised however he never admitted it was wrong, he concocted a false narrative a cock and bull story. He misrepresented the truth, arguably the greater error, because the truth matters."
RS: "LV tried to make out what he did was some kind of noble act, honoring gov commitment, no basis whatsoever for this claim, anyone who knew medical politics at the time was that the row between IMO and NAGP was vicious."
RS: "If there was any truth in what the Tanaiste claimed he would've encouraged MOT and the NAGP to support the deal, but he didn't."
I can type it all this quickly, but let me just say that @RoisinShortall brought receipts. She's got them numbered and is listing each one for reasons she believes Leo Varadkar was wrong.
RS: "He also knew he was bound by code of conduct which should respect confidences, LV clearly breached this requirement. His Trumpian defence is laughable. Adding insult to injury he required his colleagues to parrot spin lines across the airwaves."
Peter Burke has listed a number of victims of the IRA including Poddy McGahon and Mairia Cahill and says Sinn Féin protect the "untouchables".
Simon Harris is worried about political discourse: "SF have decided to measure effectiveness by decibel levels and soundbites of division. A good day at the office for Sinn Fein is sewing distrust in an opponent. We saw them engage in grubby politics of 'let him deny it'."
SH: "We would not have a new GP contract without LV and he apolgised. Anyone in this house staged a political rally in a graveyard? Maybe you left a briefing early with a health official and said you weren't briefed? The smears need to stop. There was an undertone last week."
I really need every single person in this debate to stop mentioning Donald Trump.
Brid Smith: "This is not a motion on SF, it's a motion on your conduct."
Paul Murphy: "A FF Taoiseach backing a FG Tanaiste, a fitting end to civil war politics. The Greens asleep at the wheel. LV will get away with it, but people have seen how the establishment works, like Golfgate, the revolving door of FG to lobbyist, now Tanaiste pulling strings."
Paul Murphy has accused the Tanaiste of committing a crime, the CC is asking him to take it back. He rephrases "there is clear evidence that he may well have".
Hildegarde Naughton says this is "political opportunism" and "I'm not saying anyone should be unaccountable, he has apologised for it, everyone makes mistakes, it's human nature. It was a mistake of process rather than substance."
Joe McHugh has the best accent in the Dáil, no further questions.
JMH: "He does not wear his heart on his sleeve but that does not dismiss his passion to get things done. The real issues of the day are sidelined, the ambition tonight is to inflict maximum political damage. To hear this nonsense tonight is nothing short of a mockery."
JMH: "SF do not have a monopoly on helping people. They marched with the NAGP. The politics we witness here tonight are disruptive politics for the year ahead. SF will be 100% right 100% of the time".
Joe McHugh says the decision to have a motion of no confidence was not made by Mary Lou McDonald but "old boys around a monitor" in an office "up in Belfast".
Not for nothing but it must be incredibly frustrating for the smaller parties to have to listen to statements about Sinn Féin despite many of them raising points about government policies as well as the matter at hand, but tbf we all knew this was gonna happen.
Pearse Doherty: "Leo delivered for his friend. In secret without telling anyone. We knew there was no engagement by NAGP, the only engagement was posting the document. LV has been caught redhanded. He and his colleagues think he is above accountability, but he isn't."
Sean Canney says the Oireachtas has "lost credibility". "We can have debates but it's time that TDs focus on what we need to be doing. I'm here to call the government to account but support the gov when they need help, and this evening they need help and I'll be supporting them."
Peadar Toibin says his cabinet colleagues know if they did this they'd be "out the door without touching the ground" and says "Jim O'Callaghan, the conscience of Fianna Fail if that's not an oxymoron at this stage, has the opportunity to put his money where his mouth is."
Peadar Toibin has asked the Tanaiste if he broke lockdown rules and did he have friends over for drinks when staying in Farmleigh.
Richard Bruton again calls this "tribal politics": "We look at distain of fake news in other countries, Ireland is fortunate we have not had those divisions."
Jennifer Carroll MacNeil: "SF are not serious liberal democratic politicians. They are in it for imagery. SF is not concerned by detail but theatre, which we saw at Bobby Storey's funeral, a chance for big men in this house to stand with big men who went before them."
Jennifer Carroll MacNeil refers to the night Robert McCartney was brutally murdered and smearing Mairia Cahill's bravery and SF failure to respond to it. "If SF actually thinks LV should resign why wouldn't Michelle ONeill resign?" for Bobby Storey's funeral.
Leo Varadkar is up: "I have learned from it. This is the first time I've face motion of confidence in my career and it does make you reflect. This keeps the story n the eye for another week and distracts from other issues SF don't want to talk about."
LV: "Politics is a game to them, every passionate speech, every tear choked back is a tactical move. Their spokespeople are articulate but totally insincere."
LV says "Dr Mot is blameless but only guilty of overstating his influence and sending some inappropriate messages. I hope he can continue his work. He is collateral damage, raw politics at it's most cruel."
OKAY, it's over. It's gone to a vote.
Very theatrical from all sides. Don't believe a single mind has been changed. A lot of low blows, many mentions of Trump and a lot of people accusing each other of stuff that their own parties do.
Dáil votes confidence in Leo Varadkar by 92 votes to 65.
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