Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that the comments by President Michael D Higgins about European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen did not put him in a difficult position.
“I don't actually think what the president said is hugely different from what the Government have been saying over the last couple of days,” he told RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show.
“I think it's well understood around the world that we have a constitutional president, not an executive president. That's the case in other European countries, that essentially policy is decided on by Government. And, you know, somebody has said that it hasn't been hugely far off the mark.
“I took the view as well that the initial response from quite a number of European leaders in the days after the Hamas attack on Israel almost appeared to give Israel carte blanche.
"It wasn't tempered by a call for restraint, wasn't tempered by saying that Israel has a right to defend itself, but within the confines of international human rights.”
While the Taoiseach had regular meetings with the President and would know of his views on some matter, President Higgins had not alerted him in advance of his comments about President von der Leyen.
"Quite often their views were aligned, he said. “I respect the president. I think he's doing a really good job as president, discharging his constitutional functions very well, representing us exceptionally well overseas. And I understand that from time to time he is going to express his views. And we've never, never had a row about that.”
When asked if he thought Israel saw Ireland as ‘the most anti-Israeli state in Europe”, Mr Varadkar said he did not know if Ireland was viewed as the most anti-Israeli state, but he acknowledged that Ireland was among a group of countries that would be seen as the “least favourable to Israel” largely because of the strong sympathy that the Irish people feel for Palestinians.
“Something that goes back to our own history. People tend to see the world through their own experience and through their own history. A lot of Irish people identify with Palestinians because of occupation, because of settlements, because of their fight to establish their state.”
On the issue of delays to the opening of the Children’s Hospital, Mr Varadkar acknowledged that the tentative opening date could “slip again.” The latest update is that the building will be finished and handed over for use next year, towards the end of next year, and would be open to patients in 2025, he said.
“Originally it (the opening date) was 2016 and let's not forget the original plan to build this was refused planning permission. So this is going on a very long time.
"But I think we're finally getting to the point where this is going to be for real. You know, perhaps in 18 months time, Irish children will be in a state of the art hospital, one the best paediatric hospitals in the world, and it's going to transform things.”
The Taoiseach said he had been frustrated that it had taken so long for the hospital to become a reality. "But it is coming. And it's going to be such a sea change in the quality of health care for our children."
