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This post was first published on 19 May. It has been republished – with minor edits – on the occasion of Leo Varadkar’s election as the new leader of Fine Gael on 2 June 2017.
IT SEEMS AS though Leo Varadkar was destined to work in medicine.
His mother Miriam, from Dungarvan in Waterford, was working as a nurse in England when she met his Mumbai-born father Ashok, a doctor.
The pair had settled in Dublin before Leo, the youngest of three children, was born in 1979.
Varadkar attended St Francis Xavier National School and The King’s Hospital in Dublin, before studying medicine at Trinity College and qualifying as a GP.
Destined to be a doctor perhaps, but is he also destined to be Taoiseach?
Varadkar was an active Young Fine Gael member in college, serving as chair of the Youth of the European People’s Party (of which Fine Gael is a member in the European Parliament) at one point.
His rise through the ranks of Fine Gael was relatively swift.
The then-medical student contested the local elections in 1999 in the Mulhuddart area of Dublin. He failed to be elected but was co-opted to Fingal County Council for the Castleknock area in 2003, serving as deputy mayor.
In 2004, he received the highest first-preference vote in the country in the local elections, getting almost 5,000 votes on the first count.
After securing a Dáil seat in the Dublin West constituency in the 2007 general election, he became the party’s spokesperson for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
‘You know where you stand with him’
Fine Gael councillor and current deputy mayor of Fingal County Council Eithne Loftus told TheJournal.ie she’s “not surprised” by how quickly Varadkar has risen through the ranks of the party.
I knew the first day he ran for party, the day he was elected. I knew and I said it at the time. I was the chair of the constituency at the time and introduced him as our future leader.
“I’m not at all surprised, he’s a very, very smart man. The country needs someone of his stature to lead.
“I have watched him grow since he became our local representative here and have seen his ability and general concern for the job that he does.
“I’ve nothing against Simon Coveney, we are very lucky to have so many people who are capable of doing the job of leader, but on this occasion I think Leo is the better option.”
Fond of speaking his mind, a somewhat rare trait in Irish politics, Varadkar is never far from the headlines. Some view his straight talking as refreshing, but others think it’s his Achilles’ heel – something prone to landing him in hot water.
Despite her praise for Varadkar, Loftus admits they haven’t always seen eye to eye.
“We would have disagreed on numerous things but certainly you knew exactly where you stood with him. I prefer someone to give me the truth and speak his mind.”
The failed heave
One of the notable times Varadkar spoke his mind was when he was on the wrong side of a failed heave against Enda Kenny as Fine Gael leader in 2010.
During a Prime Time interview at the time, Varadkar explained why he was backing Richard Bruton over Kenny. He drew inspiration for his answer from a Hillary Clinton presidential campaign ad in 2008.
Varadkar said Kenny had built up the party “brilliantly” over the previous eight years.
However, the then Enterprise Spokesperson said the second thing the leader of the Opposition has to do is “convince the people that he can serve as their Taoiseach”.
“Unfortunately, over the last eight years, and it’s not just one opinion poll, Enda Kenny hasn’t been able to do that. And it’s not that I’ve lost confidence in him, it’s that the public doesn’t have confidence in him. And unfortunately that’s the truth and it’s something that we all know, it’s something that you know.
And I had to ask myself that key question, the 3am question is that if we’re in government and if there’s a national crisis and if there’s a sovereign debt crisis for example and [then Central Bank governor] Patrick Honohan lifts up the phone at 3am and rings the Taoiseach, who do I want to answer that phone?
Despite backing Bruton, Varadkar was one of those not cast aside from the front bench when Kenny, now Fine Gael’s longest-serving Taoiseach, fought off the heave.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie previously about that period, Varadkar’s fellow rebel MEP Brian Hayes said: “Leo [Varadkar] had done his own sort of polling in his constituency … He said he was absolutely certain that Kenny should go but was not certain – and he pointed at Richard [Bruton] – ‘that you’re the solution’. I thought it was brilliant.
“Richard kind of blushed and said: ‘Sure that’s it, but it’s me or nothing.’”
When Kenny appointed a new frontbench the following month some of the rebels were saved but given different portfolios, including Varadakar and Simon Coveney (now the Housing Minister and his rival for the top job).
Back in 2015, Fine Gael’s former Director of Organisations and Strategy Frank Flannery told this publication: “Guys like Leo and Simon were kept on. These were very key events and allowed the party to move on as if it hadn’t happened.”
‘Poison chalice’
When Fine Gael formed a coalition government with Labour in 2011, Varadkar was appointed Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport.
A Cabinet reshuffle in 2014 saw him moved to the Department of Health, perhaps a role more suited to the doctor.
However, health is often dubbed the most difficult seat at the Cabinet table – given the constant battle with waiting lists, hospital trolleys and lack of resources.
Brian Cowen, himself a former Taoiseach, who served as Health Minister as part of Bertie Ahern’s Fianna Fáil government in the late 1990s famously compared the portfolio to Angola, in terms of how many ‘bombs’ one has to defuse no bombs when at the helm.
Speaking about the appointment at the time, Varadkar himself said: “I’m not sure if I’m able to turn the poison chalice into sweet wine, but I’ll do all that I can to improve our health services.”
In the end, he only served as Health Minister for 22 months – a relatively short period in such a vast portfolio.
As the Oireachtas is currently looking to develop a 10-year plan for the health service, Varadkar’s stint seems a bit ‘blink and you’ll have missed it’. His appointment to the Department of Social Protection (DSP) last year was seen as a lateral move by many, including Varadkar himself.
Speaking on RTÉ radio in 2016, he said: “I’m in some way sorry to be leaving Health.
It was a really tough department, probably the toughest in government, but it is one where you can make an important impact.
He said his redeployment to the DSP wasn’t a demotion, but “may well be a sideways move”.
The department’s ongoing ‘Welfare Cheats Cheat Us All’ campaign, which encourages people to report others who they suspect of committing social welfare fraud, has been making headlines recently.
Measures in the new Social Welfare Bill include the quarterly publication of the names, addresses and penalties incurred by people convicted of welfare fraud, and the potential to reduce the amount a person can receive in social welfare benefits if they’ve been convicted of fraud.
The move was welcomed by some but others were critical. Bernadette Gorman, a former social welfare inspector, described it as “a hate campaign”.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with Seán O’Rourke this week, Gorman, who has been involved with the DSP for 30 years said: “I don’t like where the department is going. I do think Leo Varadkar was on some sort of solo run but I don’t know what his officials were doing allowing it.”
Gorman said, from her experience investigating welfare claims, “complex human stories” rather than conscious fraud are often behind welfare rules being broken. She added that she believes the plan is “all about his own bid to become leader [of Fine Gael]“.
Fianna Fáil’s Willie O’Dea said the campaign is “both a gross misrepresentation of the actual levels of fraud perpetrated against his department and an attempt to curry favour with significant right wing element of the Fine Gael organisation”, comparing Varadkar to Margaret Thatcher.
Varadkar has said the new rules will act as a deterrent to crack down on welfare fraud.
When announcing the campaign in April, he said:
We take fraud very seriously and have a responsibility to taxpayers to ensure that people receive what they are entitled to. Nothing upsets people more than someone else cheating the system at their expense.
Reports of suspected fraud have increased significantly since the campaign was launched. However, there have only been 11 cases of suspected fraud so far this year, according to the department’s own figures.
Last year, the DSP made €41 million in overpayments due to customer fraud in 16,225 cases – a decline on the €49 million paid out in 2015 in 21,407 cases of customer fraud.
When Varadkar spoke about seeking to revamp the country’s social welfare system when appointed minister, people saw that as him throwing his hat into the leadership ring.
At the time, Varadkar said he was “waiting on the day I sit on toilet and someone says it’s part of a leadership strategy”.
*That* interview
For a person not afraid to talk on most topics, Varadkar was – like most Irish politicians – reticent to talk about his personal life.
It made an interview with Miriam O’Callaghan on RTÉ Radio 1 in January 2015 all the more noteworthy.
On that morning, he publicly came out as gay.
He said part of the reason to go public was his new role as Health Minister, as issues such as surrogacy and the ban on gay or bisexual men donating blood now came under his remit.
“I just want people to know that, whatever decisions are made on any issue, I’ll make them according to what I believe is in the public interest and my own conscience. I won’t be allowing my own background or my own sexual orientation to dictate the decisions that I make,” he told O’Callaghan.
Undeniably, the announcement was significant. It took place four months before the referendum on marriage equality – which, of course, passed – and made Varadkar one of a few openly gay members of the Oireachtas.
No, a person’s sexual orientation does not impact on their ability to do a job, but having an openly gay leader of the country would show far Ireland has come in the two decades since homosexuality was decriminalised here.
To some, there was another part of the interview that was more surprising than him coming out. Miriam Lord noted in the Irish Times that Varadkar “shocked the political establishment by telling RTÉ’s Miriam O’Callaghan that ‘a politician should trust people with the truth’. Then he shocked the nation by revealing that he is still only 36 years old.”
Indeed, his quick rise through the ranks of Fine Gael means he’s younger than many of his peers at the Cabinet table.
All to play for
Opinion polls – although we’ve learned they can’t always be trusted – generally gave Varadkar the edge over Coveney very early in the leadership race.
Today, the final results showed Coveney won the backing of 65% of Fine Gael’s grassroots members, but Varadkar took the victory after securing significant support among local representatives and the parliamentary party.
The final count, including all three electoral colleges, saw him win with 60% to Coveney’s 40%. The electoral college breakdown was as follows:
Fine Gael’s parliamentary party consists of 50 TDs, 19 senators and four MEPs.
How they voted in the leadership contest accounted for 65% of the outcome, while the votes of ordinary members made up 25% and councillors’ votes just 10%.
‘Who wants to lead the Opposition?’
When asked by TheJournal.ie in January 2015 if he wanted to lead Fine Gael, Varadkar, who had just been appointed Health Minister, said he didn’t know.
“Ask me that maybe in four or five years time. Now, at the moment, absolutely, definitely not … It’s the last thing on my mind at the moment, particularly with the job I have at the moment, trying to get a handle on the health service. I really want to get stuck into that.
In four or five years time, if I’m still around, ask me that question and I’ll give you a straight answer at that time.
It’s only been two years, but he has just given his first speech and press conference as Fine Gael leader, nodding to the fact that he is soon to become Taoiseach.
“When my father travelled [to Ireland]… I doubt he ever dreamed that his son would one day grow up to become its leader and despite his differences, his son would be treated the same and judged by his actions and character, and not by his ardents and identity,” he said.
The 38-year-old earlier said that people around the world look to Ireland and are reminded that this isn’t a country where it matters where you come from, “but rather where you want to go”.
However, he may not have a lot of time to get comfortable in this new top spot. A general election could happen sooner rather than later and could see Fine Gael return to the opposition benches.
During the same interview with TheJournal.ie in 2015, Varadkar was asked if he wanted to be Taoiseach. His response? “You’d hardly want to be leader of the opposition. Who would want to do that?”
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Senator who? Make a headline get name recognition. We currently can’t stop under 18′s from drinking ,so let’s get real.
@Daithi Ó Raghallaigh: senator no one.
@Daithi Ó Raghallaigh: she chaired the oireachtas committee on the eight amendment so wouldn’t say shes a complete nobody
@Benny: But she’s still no-one special.
@Daithi Ó Raghallaigh: she was in the news using her position to demand All Ireland tickets to see her beloved Mayo. She was silent when asked what other Mayo matches she attended
@Michael McLoughlin: that was Michelle Mulherin.
@Daithi Ó Raghallaigh: “I highlighted that the Icelandic model has been very successful in reducing problem drinking.” Must be a page 3 model then…
Pure attention seeking nonsense the amount of young people drinking is dropping massively
@richard fennessy: in Spain and Italy the legal age is 16 and yet they have a much healthier attitude to alcohol than we have.
@Henry Porter: Wrong. Spain has more alcoholics per capita than Ireland.
@Henry Porter: True. Having lived in Spain, my experience was that they drink more frequently than us but when we drink, we drink more. That applied to the Spanish and Italians I knew. Bit of a generalisation and of course they’re not immune to getting drunk on a Saturday night but just what I saw. Different attitudes but I think the cost factors in too. More appealing to just have one or two when it’s only costing you a few euro (and when you’re getting a free ‘tapa’ with it!)
@Figo murphy: to be counted as an alcoholic don’t you have to admit you have a problem?
@Henry Porter: yep def just nonsense attitude not age
@Megan Finnegan Ward: Very interesting, perhaps we could discuss further over a few drinks? Not to excess of course
@richard fennessy: Exactly. Young people these days are drinking relatively far less than any generation since the 70′s.
@Tony Donoghue: is this an example of the reasoned debate you referred to? Hypocrisy abound.
@Figo murphy: Having lived in Ireland and currently living in Spain, I don’t know where you’re getting that from, Ireland has a massive problem with alcohol, I knew plenty of alcoholics/people with unhealthy drinking habits, I hardly ever see people off their heads in Barcelona, I never see drunk people in the metro either, here people drink to socialise, in Ireland people drink to get drunk.
@Figo murphy: a huge proportion ate epats from UK, Ireland & Nordic countries from my observation
@Thomas Sheridan: living in Spain myself it’s us foreigners who drink to excess not the locals
People will just drink any time put it up to 20 will make no difference
I think a ban on the sale of alcohol in off licences to under 21s could reduce the level of consumption to that age groups and would make it harder for under 18s to get alcohol. Serve alcohol to 18 to 21 year olds in bar’s only.
@Tom Leddy: so if you’re over 21 you cant get served? That’s mad Ted.
@Tom Leddy: So what you purpose is to make it 21 to drink in your own home and 18 to drink in pubs and clubs.
@andyearley: is that what I said??
@Roy Dowling: It may sound mad but making it more difficult for teenagers to get alcohol is what we must target. 21 year olds won’t buy alcohol for 16 year olds, 18 or 19 year olds will.
@Tom Leddy:
yes.
“Serve alcohol to 18 to 21 year olds in bars only”
Just read it back slowly to yourself. Ted.
@Tom Leddy: we used to get people to buy our drink for us when we were under age, where there s a will there’s a way.
I said a lot more than that. Raising the age limit to 20 is one part of the model that I don’t agree with. This shouldn’t be the focus of your story to be fair.
@Catherine Noone: where do u stand on the cost of insurance to the under 20s,
@Michael Mulcahy: obviously I would like it to be much more affordable.
@Catherine Noone: Well, let’s have it then, what did you say? What did you mean? You have an opportunity to get it out now but instead you’re just shooting the messenger.
@Catherine Noone: Distancing yourself from your own statements. That must be a first….
@Catherine Noone: Lamb to the slaughter
@Catherine Noone: when will you and your Fine Gael cronies get it through your thick skulls that you cannot fix things by banning them
@Dave O’Keeffe: To be fair, I think she’s as entitled to comment as anyone else.
@Catherine Noone: not really a good answer I’m a parent who struggled to pay insurance when I was in my 20s, 30 years later absolutely nothing has changed were beginning to be a two tier state for those who can and those that cannot
@Fachtna Roe: Exactly. Especially if she feels she’s been misquoted or taken out of context.
@Catherine Noone:
You’re a woman 4 whom I have a great deal of respect. However, I have 2 say I disagree with ur proposal.
Its long past time 4 ur Govt 2 start treating people with a bit more respect including young people. Instead of always coming up with ways 2 exclude them from social activities cud some1 not come up with ways 2 include them? Wat r young people supposed 2 do with their spare time? Sit up in their bedrooms on their computers?
Also I agree with dos who say increasing the age limit won’t make 1 bit of difference.
Additionally, does it not seem a bit daft, 2 say the least, dat young people can marry at 16, vote at 18, and according 2 your proposal, drink at 20 and smoke at 23? It shud b 1 age across the board. Preferably 18 4 everything.
@Catherine Noone: is a good and decent person. Nor is she “thick” She does not deserve to be disrespected in the way she is being disrespected here. It makes me wonder the level of some peoples emotional intelligence if they can’t grasp the concept that you can and should be able to disagree with someone without being nasty to or about them.
@Catherine Noone: Have you never read the journal before. You made a statement where you mentioned that the drinking age in Iceland was increased to 20. They’ve decided to run a poll they no will be controversial in order to get people to click in to it so they get their advertising revenue, its called click bait. If you look closely you’ll note they never stated that you suggested raising the legal age to 20 or if you were for or against it.
@Fachtna Roe: where did I say she wasn’t entitled to comment? I criticised her for not giving the context she claimed was missing from an article about something she said. At no point did I say she shouldn’t have commented. She could have provided the full content of what she said for all to see but she didn’t. Why might that be?
@Damien Hawe: which is why I asked her for the full quote and context. Strange that you and Fachtna seem to think me asking her what she actually said is me telling her she shouldn’t be commenting
@Fachtna Roe: she’ll have enjoyed your “no-one special” comment
@Catherine Noone: Can we adopt the Icelandic Model for dealing with failed and liar politicans and corrupt bankers ?
Also in Iceland can a person who failed to get elected be then apointed to a position by their leader ?
@Tony Donoghue: True at more than one level. :)
@Dave O’Keeffe: The Icelandic model promotes natural highs (sport, dance, art) to steer young people away from drink, drugs and crime. I don’t know what Catherine said but if she feels like she has been misquoted I’d accept that. Moving on though here is a link on what the Icelandic model is.
https://mosaicscience.com/story/iceland-prevent-teen-substance-abuse
Iceland jailed bankers too. Lets try that model first.
@Hello DAVE!: you don’t get jailed here you get a bonus for the more incompetent you are and a nice pension
Is this the one who couldn’t get elected in the last election and was then specially appointed to the Seaned by Leo?
How is raising it to 20 going to make any difference? If they want it they’ll get it.
No because it would not work ,the 18 age is not working either
This is completely the wrong move, there is a strong correlation between higher legal ages for drinking and a binge drinking culture (Ireland, UK, USA…), if anything we should be lowering it.
If a teenagers introduction to alcohol is an uncontrolled experience it’s hardly a surprise they have such a destructive attitude towards the substance, we should consider allowing them to develop a positive relationship in the company of adults such as the French and other non binge drinking nations do.
Yes because restricting people’s access to alcohol always works,.
I’ve never heard such cod’s wallop. If anything we should be reducing it to 16 (the continental standard) and try have an educated and mature discussion around alcohol.
Has she been to Iceland? Those guys can party!
@ParSim: they must be broke. Costs a fortune there
Will they also ban diageo from sponsoring major sporting events? Will they f**k
Then raise the age to join the Army, the Garda, to Vote, to have consentual sex, to get married, have children, have a bank loan………
I’m gonna have to get myself a new fake ID if they do.
lol
Noone looking for publicity for her GE campaign.
Hopefully dublin will reject her as did Mayo.
A politician with zero achievements other than cosring the taxpayer a fortune.
More education.
Allow licensed premises to open as long as they see fit. Why can’t i buy wine on a Sunday morning shopping visit @ 10:00? Outdated laws
Just when you thought Journal couldn’t dream up clickbait any crazier.
While I do like Senator Noone, this idea is ridiculous. At 18 you are an adult. You have to accept all the consequences that come with that.
Why? It won’t be enforced! Our local parks are now being taken over after hours by drunken teens, not enough guards, lack of resources from government etc…. Here’s a poll, should this current inept, incompetent government be dissolved ASAP, because of their blatant lack of proper governance….. only one box to tick….. YES!
Who is the dame? What a stupid suggestion, if we ban alcohol till drinkers are 20 does she really think the 18 yr plus brigade will suddenly comply. Just a bit of attention seeking if you ask me
Sean Murray Are you a member of Fine Gael? I ask because my comment saying that Catherine Noone was a passive aggressive attention seeker was removed. If she can comment, so can I.
It should be dropped to 16 but only allow beer and wine to be served to under 20s
Regulation upon regulation upon regulation – Jesus Christ, are we allowed to do anything in this country anymore?
There is no legal age to buy coke and weed…And we all know how that’s working out.
@Decko Kelly: yeah there is and it is any age in this country
I’m gonna have to get a new fake ID if they do.
I don’t understand how it would not be considered age discrimination. You are considered an adult at 18. Pubs were already prevented from having age limits above 18 due to it being considered discrimination which it is.
How does raising the drinking age to 20 reduce alcohol abuse? We have another senator looking to make headlines. Why did we vote to keep that house?
The under 20′s should make sure to vote for non-Fine Gael Candidates who have some respect for the younger generations
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4321715/
I’m all for this. It’s a scientific fact with hundreds of studies about drug & alcohol effects on the developing adolescent brain. Or are you going to go all trump on me?
@Mick Staines: “Or are you going to go all trump on me?” who are you talking to?
There are more off licences in Cork city now then there were in the entire country 35 years ago. Then people drank in pubs, which is under supervision. Now people drink at home, which isn’t. 40 years ago a 20 year old learned, due to his/her surroundings, to drink responsibly. Now, frequently, they don’t.
Should it not be illegal for people to pay prsi tax during there working life can it not be made illegal to pay handsome pension s to politicians who has done a bad job while in government should it not b made illegal to have RIP off price drinks in Dublin from the rest of the country including pubs which do not have television bleating on their primises but still manage to RIP people off
I’m not sure about raising the age but Ireland has a terrible drinking problem and a lot of people refuse to acknowledge it. People’s attitude’s towards other drugs is so far removed from how they feel about alcohol and it makes zero sense.
Sure, there’s Iceland, but never forget the far larger and failed stateside model that has me wary of ever increasing the drinking age to a population already drinking before 18. I would suggest keeping 18 as is for buying alcohol in shops and in pubs, have an age of 16 to drink at home (or at parents choice) and then implement the other policies, such as limited advertising and educating about the dangers of binge drinking. Bans just seem to be the FG way, no thought goes into anything they do.
18 is perfectly acceptable age, of course there will be some that abuse it, but that happens at all ages
Sure the age limit doesn’t matter now lol most kids start drinking at fifteen or sixteen and smoking if they are going to. People need to wake up. I started when I was fifteen and smoking, then in my mid twenties I gave up smoking and rarely drink anymore. Just because you start young doesn’t mean your going to end up an alcoholic.
If you can fight and die for the country, vote,etc, then you can drink
If Irish people choose to adopt an Icelandic approach, things may improve. Changing the law won’t help.
@Cathal O’Donoghue: What is the Icelandic approach?
20 is an awkward number. 18 makes some sense. 21 in America, ok I get you. But 20? Nah mate.
I thought teens preferred drugs over drink now???
Raising the legal limit isn’t going to stop people from under-age drinking. That might only increase the stigma . If there was less hype about under-age drinking and less of an authoritarian approach taken by parents towards alcohol , I think teenagers would be able to enjoy alcohol more moderately without making the mistakes we all made. Introducing alcohol gradually even at 16 would be better than this idea in my opinion !
Grow up then ask for drink.
People of Ireland are mentally incapable, of making a decision, its our duty to think for everyone and we really care about you!
Don’t b so bloody stupid!
have your say