Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

He put back together the Executive Sinn Féin collapsed in a tactical act of arrogance, leaving Northern Ireland without a voice for three years during the Brexit negotiations. He deserves their thanks and their respect, not their opprobrium. Sinn Féin knows the work he put in to ensure there was no hard border on our island. Yet, they seek tonight to hound an honourable man out of office for cheap publicity and political gain.

In politics we will always have disagreements and debates, but there also needs to be a sense of proportion and balance. If everything is a disgrace or a crisis or a scandal, well then nothing really is. As this House returns, we will face discussions on big issues, like the new national development plan, on health, on housing, on climate, on budget 2023, to name but five. Surely, on our first day back, this is what we should be focusing on. I believe it is what most people want us to focus on. Only Sinn Féin feels differently.

Simon leads our Government’s efforts on the UN Security Council and on the continuing discussions around Brexit and the protocol. Is it seriously being suggested it is in the interests of this country that he be removed at this crucial time? It was the Government of which Simon and I were Members that reformed the process by which public appointments were made, running them through the Public Appointments Service, PAS, system. We see elsewhere on this island what happens when a system like that is absent. We brought in legislation to regulate lobbying and a clear definition as to what lobbying is and what it is not.

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