‘We cannot stand idly by’ – Kilkenny TD backs vote of no confidence in Tánaiste Leo Varadkar
Kilkenny’s Sinn Féin TD has defended the party’s decision to table a motion of no confidence in the Tánaiste and Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar in the Dáil today.
Deputy Kathleen Funchion accused Mr Varadkar of “leaking a confidential document to a friend”. She said her party is tabling the motion of no confidence because “the Taoiseach Micheál Martin has decided to sit on his hands and take no action against the Tánaiste”.
Deputy Funchion said: “Leo Varadkar – while he was Taoiseach – disclosed confidential government information to his friend. He can offer no credible reason for his actions and the truth is that there is no acceptable reason for what happened. This was not incompetence or a mistake – this was a conscious decision by Leo Varadkar to give his friend insider information.
“The Taoiseach Micheál Martin has decided to take no action. The Opposition cannot sit idly by, so we have acted. This is the right thing to do and it is the necessary thing to do.
The Kilkenny TD (pictured below) insisted the party “didn’t take this decision lightly”, adding: “All of this further undermines the public’s confidence in politics and is totally unacceptable to us.
“The election in February was about change, about new politics and that is what we intend to deliver.”
However, Fine Gael have hit back at Sinn Féin, describing the vote of no confidence, which should be easily defeated by the Government parties, as “political theatre”.
Meanwhile, Fine Gael has ramped up pressure on Sinn Féin over a controversial donation of around €4m that the party registered in the UK.
Fine Gael is calling for new powers to be given to the State watchdog so that it can crack down on what it claims is Sinn Féin’s exploitation of a loophole on political donations.
