Leo Varadkar T.D.  has been talking to the press again – this time it’s to Hot Press.   You think he’s getting ready for higher office or a heave or something with all the media he’s doing these days?

The bit about the gays below for your information.

What’s your opinion on same–sex marriage?

I have no problem with civil partnership, and that bill is going through the House now, and I’ll be voting for it. I do think that marriage is separate. And marriage in our Constitution is very clear that it’s a man marrying a woman, largely with a view to having a natural family, and if they are unable to do that, obviously they can adopt.  And I would be of the view that it doesn’t have to be the case for everyone, but that the preferable construct in a society is the traditional family, and the State through it’s laws should protect that and promote that.  And that doesn’t mean to say that other people can’t have a different form of relationship, or different choices in their lives, and lots of people do, and that’s fine.  But I don’t think the government should be neutral on that, and the best thing for – and this would be backed up by evidence – that the best thing for children is to be brought up by their father and their mother, a man and a woman, in a stable relationship underwritten by marriage. And I think the  State should support that.

Do you think that homosexual sex is morally wrong?

No

But you describe yourself as a Christian Democrat?

Christian democracy is a political philosophy, it’s not a religious one. Obviously the Bible has severe statements on homosexual sex, but I don’t think it’s morally wrong. The reason why we don’t use the term ‘Christian democracy’ in Ireland is because it’s no understood in Ireland. In Germany and most European countries they understand it because there’s been a long tradition of Christian democratic politics. It’s not a political philosophy that means you have to sign up to everything in the Bible. To be honest, I’m not a religious person. If anything I’m an agnostic – though I’d share a lot of Christian values.

And it goes on.. stuff about being lonely, never having been in a long term relationship, the arrogance of Gormley and how Eamon Ryan is the FF favourite Green.  How Enda told him off a little for what he said about Garrett Fitzgerald and so on.