Mr Lyons said,
“Leo Varadkar has consistently behaved like the proverbial bull in a china shop when it comes to powersharing. His latest BBC interview was essentially a call for majority rule. If that’s his considered position then, as the incoming Taoiseach, he should be honest about his ultimate departure from the Belfast and St Andrews Agreements.
Rather than trying to build a consensus and work for an outcome that unionists can support, Leo Varadkar ignores the fact that no unionist MLAs support the Protocol. Progress has only ever been in Northern Ireland with the support of unionists and nationalists.
Leo Varadkar has consistently played fast and loose with the principles of powersharing as expressed in the Belfast and St Andrews Agreements. Indeed, he has never apologised or even admitted his gross error in distributing an Irish Times news article about a bombed checkpoint.
By distributing such a news story he was arguing that unless fellow EU members backed his political approach, then further such incidents would take place. It was an outrageous act to leverage support and gave zero consideration for victims of terrorism. The threat of violence should never have a seat at the negotiating table.
Before Leo Varadkar spouts more views on Northern Ireland, he should recognise his leadership errors in the past and be honest about what his commitment to powersharing in the future.”
Lyons – “Varadkar should be honest about majority rule ambitions”
01 Jul, 2022
DUP East Antrim MLA Gordon Lyons has said the Republic of Ireland’s Tánaiste Leo Varadkar should reflect on the ideology of powersharing and if he has no interest in the views of unionists then he should just be honest and call for majority rule.
