Speaking to Hot Press, the politician admits he smoked cannabis in college, and when asked if he ever experimented with ecstasy or any other illegal drugs as a teen and replies, "Not since I've held elected office, anyway. I’ve been extremely law-abiding since I’ve been elected to politics."

Regarding the head shop debate, he says, "I think it’s kind of curious the extent to which the attacks on the head shops are being carried out by drug dealers. ... it would be almost impossible to actually ban head shops because they’ll always be one step ahead of the law, and it might make more sense to try and regulate them."

He describes Fianna Fáil as a party that’s "naturally inclined to find a white lie, or a formula of words, that’ll keep everyone on board." He claims that Enda Kenny ruled out a coalition with Sinn Féin because they have an army, the IRA. But, says Varadkar, "The weapons are decommissioned. I’m not an expert, but as far as I know the organisation still exists, and they still have an army council, and all the structures in around it. And you can’t have a party in government that has a private army."

Read the full interview