Sinn Féin TD for Dublin South West Seán Crowe has said that Sinn Féin has tabled a Dáil motion of no-confidence in the Tánaiste and Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar because the current rotating Taoiseach Micheál Martin has decided to sit on his hands and take no action against the Tánaiste; despite him leaking a confidential government document to a personal friend.

Teachta Seán Crowe said:

“Sinn Féin is tabling a motion of no-confidence in the Tánaiste and Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar, which will be debated during our private members’ time in the Dáil on Tuesday.

“Leo Varadkar – while he was Taoiseach – disclosed confidential government information to his personal 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 pal insider information.

“The current rotating Taoiseach Micheál Martin (Leo Varadkar being next) 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.

“We didn’t take this decision lightly. This government has only been in office for just four months and over that time we had the basis of taking many motions of no-confidence due to gross incompetence and bad decision making.

“We have had a Minister who made the decision to drive while intoxicated on a provisional driving licence; another Minister who thought it was acceptable for him to go on a golfing weekend while the rest of the country were locked down at home, unable to see friends and family; a scandal in our schools where children and their teachers were given sanitising products that were harmful to their health; a shocking attempt to seal the records of the Mother and Baby Homes so that victims and survivors might never know the truth so that those who ruled over that oppressive system would be spared; and Ministers who dozed off in the Dáil before voting against the rights of workers to access fair redundancy.

“We choose not to do so because of the challenges facing the country.

“However, this is latest scandal has made the matter untenable. This is more of the old Fine Gael behaviour where it is about who you know and insider pals getting access to the corridors of power. It comes after Michael D’Arcy has moved on from his role as Minister of State to the world of high finance in the same way Brian Hayes moved from politics to the banking sector; where he is now their chief lobbyist.

“All of this further undermines the public’s confidence in politics and is totally unacceptable to us. Its another snapshot on how the elites look after their own.

“The election in February was about change, about new politics and that is what we intend to deliver.”