The Government’s attempt to muddy the waters of what happened is only making matters worse
Green Party Leader Eamon Ryan said today that the Government’s attempts to explain Leo Varadkar’s intervention in the planning system don’t add up.
Speaking today, he said: “Who is telling the truth about then-Minister Varadkar’s intervention in the planning process on behalf of Donald Trump? Do we take the Taoiseach’s word for it, that he intervened personally? Do we accept the excuse this morning that it was an inquiry by one of Mr. Varadkar’s officials? Or Clare County Council, who have no record or knowledge of the intervention taking place? The story doesn’t add up.
“Leo Varadkar openly stated that he rang Clare County Council to inquire about the planning permission for the wind farm near Trump’s Doonbeg resort. We believe that story. The fact that he could not see the intervention was inappropriate is what he has to defend.
“The contradictory statement from Government today that it was officials rather than the Minister who made the call is not credible. Their attempt to muddy the waters makes matters worse. Public confidence has been further undermined by the statement from Clare County Council, that they never got a call from anyone.”
“What the Minister did was clearly wrong. If Fine Gael could only hear their own defense of the indefensible, it would make them blush.”
