TDs have voted confidence in Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar in the Dáil this evening by 92 votes to 65.

The confidence motion was in response to Sinn Féin's no-confidence motion over Mr Varadkar's handling of a confidential document.

Last week, Mr Varadkar apologised for errors of judgement when he provided a confidential document agreed with the Irish Medical Organisation to a rival group of GPs in 2019.

Mr Varadkar said that giving the GP contract to the president of the National Association of General Practitioners (NAGP) by informal communication was not good practice. 

He said it was an "error" and he said he accepted sole responsibility for it. He said he regretted it and was "sorry for the controversy and the annoyance that his actions have caused".

Mr Varadkar repeated his apology in the Dáil this evening, saying his motivations were sound and he had learned from it.

The Taoiseach told the Dáil that Sinn Féin's no-confidence motion in the Tánaiste was a "100% cynical move".

Mr Martin said the Sinn Féin move was based on the party's hope that something would turn up, but he said there had been no blockbuster revelation since last week.

Mr Martin said the party was now scrambling with the reality that nothing significant had changed.

The Taoiseach said the leaking of the confidential document was inappropriate and should not have happened, but he said nobody had demonstrated any personal gain and public policy was not adversely impacted.

He said lessons had been learned and it should not occur again, but there had been accountability and the Dáil had exercised its oversight of the matter. 

Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said Sinn Féin was trying to sow division in Government and to capitalise on a mistake by the Tánaiste.

He said Mr Varadkar's motivation was well meaning, but he took a short cut and should have briefed the NAGP officially.

Mr Coveney said the no-confidence motion was not about establishing facts, but sustaining a political smear campaign masquerading as whistleblowing and to inflict maximum political damage.

Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys attacked Sinn Féin as the party of multiple mysterious bank accounts, that denigrates victims and operates under a toxic culture of secrecy and bullying and intimidation.

She accused the party of pontificating about golden circles when it is the richest party in the country and Donald Trump had attended one of its gold-plated US dinners.

She said it was a stunt based in political opportunism rather than in the national interest.

'Faliure of leadership' says McDonald

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald accused the Taoiseach of standing idly by while Mr Varadkar leaked a confidential document to his friend.

She said the failure of Mr Martin to act was a "failure of leadership". 

She added that the truth was that if a junior civil servant leaked a confidential document they would have been sacked.

Ms McDonald said that what angers people was that Mr Varadkar's actions are par for the course.

She said the Fine Gael cosy club culture is about access to power and said people are entitled to much better in Government.

The Labour Party said the Tánaiste should have come clean and dispensed with the "incredible yarn" that he leaked the document for the good of the document.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said the party had no confidence in the Tánaiste as he was not a friend of the worker or transparent politics.

He also took aim at Sinn Féin accusing it of wanting to present itself as "the ethical left" standing against the "Old Boys Club".

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said his party had confidence in Mr Varadkar. 

He said it welcomed his admission that his actions were not right and had accepted his apology.

The Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall claimed in the Dáil that Mr Varadkar had "concocted a false narrative" regarding his leaking of the confidential document.

She described it as "a cock-and-bull story" that "misrepresented the truth".

RISE TD Paul Murphy withdrew remarks in the Dáil in which he suggested Mr Varadkar was guilty of a criminal offence. 

The Ceann Comhairle told Mr Murphy it was up to the courts to adjudicate on crimes. 

Following the Ceann Comhairle's intervention, Mr Murphy then said there was "clear evidence" of an offence, but it was not for him to decide.

Mr Murphy said the controversy showed how the political establishment works and said Mr Varadkar was guilty of divisive politics.

Additional reporting Mícheál Lehane, Paul Cunningham, David Murphy