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"Varadkar" is certainly not an Irish name, but a man who carries that surname could potentially become Prime Minister of the Republic of Ireland one day. Leo Varadkar, the son of an Indian doctor from Mumbai and an Irish nurse (who met while working together in a hospital in Slough, England), currently serves as the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport in the government of Prime Minister Enda Kenny of the center-right Fine Gael party. Only 34 years old, Varadakar is himself a trained physician (educated at King's Hospital School, Palmerstown and Trinity College- Dublin) and has represented the Dublin-West constituency in parliament since 2007.
Despite his sterling background and qualifications – indeed, he might even be considered the “Bobby Jindal of Ireland” -- Varadkar's relatively short political career has already been marked by a number of controversies. For example, he was once accused of racism when he suggested that jobless immigrants in Ireland (apparently, black Africans) should receive compensation from the government in order to return home. In September 2008, while serving as Fine Gael’s spokesman on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, just after national jobless figures reached a 10-year high, Varadkar told a committee of parliament that unemployed immigrants should be paid to leave the country, emphasizing that such a scheme would be voluntary, not mandatory. "Would there be a case at this stage for giving an offer to foreign nationals the opportunity to receive, say, three or four or six months of benefits, if they then agreed to repatriate to their country of origin and then forego benefits beyond that?" he asked.
Leo Varadkar Could This Indian Man One Day Become Prime Minister Of Ireland
Despite his sterling background and qualifications – indeed, he might even be considered the “Bobby Jindal of Ireland” -- Varadkar's relatively short political career has already been marked by a number of controversies. For example, he was once accused of racism when he suggested that jobless immigrants in Ireland (apparently, black Africans) should receive compensation from the government in order to return home. In September 2008, while serving as Fine Gael’s spokesman on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, just after national jobless figures reached a 10-year high, Varadkar told a committee of parliament that unemployed immigrants should be paid to leave the country, emphasizing that such a scheme would be voluntary, not mandatory. "Would there be a case at this stage for giving an offer to foreign nationals the opportunity to receive, say, three or four or six months of benefits, if they then agreed to repatriate to their country of origin and then forego benefits beyond that?" he asked.
Leo Varadkar Could This Indian Man One Day Become Prime Minister Of Ireland
