Cathal Mac Coille: SF discovers harsh winds blow across the moral high ground

Sinn Féin’s move against Leo Varadkar over Leakgate led to a vociferous response by Fine Gael

Mary Lou McDonald, Sinn Féin’s party president. The Dáil committee on procedure and privileges ruled in 2015 that McDonald had abused Dáil privilege when she named six former ministers who she claimed were linked to offshore Ansbacher accounts. Credit: Rollingnews

Motions of no confidence in ministers usually follow a predictable course towards a predictable end. Last Tuesday’s Dáil debate on a government counter-motion supporting Leo Varadkar over “Leakgate” was no exception. After two hours of debate that revealed nothing new, TDs backed the Tánaiste by 92 votes to 65.

Fine Gael’s determination to put a particularly sharp edge on its attacks on Sinn Féin was again very evident during the debate. The same trend has ...