FG leadership candidates should publish spending, says Varadkar

Candidates in the Fine Gael leadership contest should publish accounts of all their spending during the forthcoming campaign, Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar has said.

Mr Varadkar, one of the candidates to succeed Enda Kenny as party leader, said spending limits should be imposed on those participating in the contest.

He said a ceiling on campaign spending would “make sure the contest is fair and that nobody is perceived to have had an unfair monetary advantage… Accounts should be published.”

There is speculation that Taoiseach Enda Kenny may postpone stepping down because of the British delay in triggering article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty which will pave the way for talks on the UK leaving the European Union.

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Asked if he was prepared to give Mr Kenny more time, Mr Varadkar said: “I have always said that the time would be set by the Taoiseach. I don’t think anyone is going to cause division in the party by trying to force a timeline on him.”

Speaking to reporters in Paris, where he is visiting as part of the Government's St Patrick's Day programme, he also cautioned against attempts to label him and Minister for Housing Simon Coveney in the leadership contest.

"Some people in the media are trying to present it as though there would be some massive ideological or political divide," Mr Varadkar said after a breakfast at the Irish Embassy in Paris.

“There isn’t really, because we are all members of the same party… I definitely have no difficulty being characterised as a social and economic liberal, because that is exactly what I am.”

He said it would be wrong to underestimate his interest in social policy.

Mr Varadkar said that as Minister for Social Protection “I have brought about the first increases in welfare payments in eight years for people with disabilities, for carers, for the unemployed, for lone parents… It would be easy to characterise candidates into a particular corner that would not be consistent with the facts.”

Mr Varadkar said he has “a very good personal relationship” with Mr Coveney and that “whatever happens, once the contest is over, the party needs to come together behind a candidate. That won’t be a problem.”