Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has said he believes "absolutely" Tánaiste Leo Varadkar's explanation for sending a draft copy of a GP contract agreed with the Irish Medical Organisation to the rival National Association of General Practitioners.
Mr Varadkar is facing a Sinn Féin motion of no confidence on the matter on Tuesday and The Government is confident all 84 TDs from the coalition parties will support the Tánaiste.
The vote will take place after two hour debate in the National Convention Centre tomorrow evening.
On Monday morning Mr Coveney said: “I have spoken to Leo in some detail about this issue and I believe his version of events absolutely.”
“He answered questions at length in the Dáil last week and I think what’s happening this week is an attempt by Sinn Féin to try to keep this issue in the media to try to create division within Government.”
"I think that in a week when we could see huge progress on Brexit when we're looking forward to a really positive relationship with the new US president that Sinn Féin are looking to inflict personalised political damage on Leo Varadkar because he's an opponent.
"That's what's happening this week, not anything else," he told RTÉ's Morning Ireland.
Over the weekend Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald rejected claims that her party’s motion of no confidence in the Tánaiste was “to score points or mudslinging”.
She said Taoiseach Micheál Martin had not sanctioned Mr Varadkar and “as the Opposition the only sanction available to us is to table a motion of no confidence”.
Ms McDonald said “the politics of the nod and wink, the insiders, the cosy clubs, the old boys’ network, call it what you will, has a cost, has a price and it’s a cost that’s borne by the Irish people.
Fianna Fáil Minister of State Robert Troy said the motion amounted to no more than an "act of political theatre" by Sinn Féin.
Opposition groups and parties, which have declared their position, have said they will back the Sinn Féin move.
Labour’s Aodhán Ó Riordáin said his party did not have confidence in the Tánaiste’s explanation.
The Social Democrats are expected to support the motion but the party has said it will meet at noon on Monday to adopt a formal position.
Separately, Village magazine, which first published the details of Mr Varadkar giving the details of the contract to the NAGP, said it would publish more details on the story this afternoon.
