TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR has said political culture has changed in the last number of years.

Speaking at an event focused on healthcare in Kildare today, Leo Varadkar also spoke about how he has known Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald for a long time and often discusses matters such as Northern Ireland with her.

Varadkar said when he started off in politics, “it would have been much more normal for people to kind of have a row in the [Dáil] chamber and then maybe have a drink in the bar afterwards. It’s not really like that anymore”.

“Maybe it’s just the way society has changed. People are busier or they socialise less and drink less, go home more often, you know. So that kind of political culture, which wasn’t a bad thing, where maybe everyone was up in Dublin for a few days and then kind of tried to get on behind the scenes – that doesn’t really happen in the way it used to,” he said.

Varadkar said that’s not to say there aren’t relationships outside of politics, adding:

“Take the case of Mary Lou McDonald. I would know her from the time she was in Dublin West, in my constituency, [she] was in Fianna Fáil branch originally, and then ran for Sinn Féin in Dublin West before moving to Dublin Central. So we actually used to live quite near to each other.

“We have each other’s phone numbers and sometimes we would talk offline about things, particularly in relation to Northern Ireland, where there are things that need to be talked about, that are sensitive and are best not done in public. Because we do have common interests when it comes to things to do with the Good Friday Agreement and trying to make sure that that’s up and running and operating again.

“So we’re able to talk offline, in that sense, but it’s not the way it used to be in a sense of camaraderie.”

Former minister Jim Daly, who is now CEO of the Private Hospitals Association, who was moderating the discussion today mentioned how Varadkar had recently sent flowers to McDonald after she underwent a hysterectomy.

Daly said such a gesture is a side of politics we don’t often get to see.

Varadkar went on to say that he feels lucky in the Dublin West constituency as all representatives from the area work to get things done for the community and avoid taking “potshots at each other”.

With reporting by Eimer McAuley