Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The unauthorised disclosure of the Attorney General’s legal advice referred to in the Deputy’s question was unfortunate and inappropriate.

The Attorney General provides legal advice to the Government and this advice is subject to legal professional privilege, in the same way as the legal advice provided to a private client by any solicitor or barrister. The proper operation of Government and, thereby, the public interest is served by this privilege as it facilitates the confidential consideration by Government of sensitive matters.

While it is understandable that there would be political demands in the course of a campaign for access to legal advice underlying a position taken by the Government, the unauthorised disclosure of privileged legal advice is not an appropriate way to respond to such demands.

The Government will have to reflect on how best to address this matter.