Usually if you have to deny it there is some truth....The Tánaiste has described an article published in The Village magazine about him as "inaccurate and grossly defamatory".
Leo Varadkar has said he has sought legal advice on the content of the article.
However, Mr Varadkar also said that the provision of a copy of an agreement with the Irish Medical Organisation to the head of the National Association of General Practitioners "was not best practice".
It comes after opposition parties called on Mr Varadkar to issue a statement on allegations outlined in The Village magazine today.
The article said Mr Varadkar passed on a "confidential" agreement agreed with the IMO to the head of a rival organisation, the NAGP.
In a statement, Mr Varadkar said that an agreement on GP contractual reforms was negotiated by the Department of Health, the HSE and the IMO at the start of April 2019, and was publicly announced by the IMO on Friday 5 April.
He said the IMO press release on this date "set out extensive detail about the agreement". Mr Varadkar added that the agreement was subsequently publicly announced by the HSE on 6 April.
He said that he provided a copy of the agreement to Dr Maitiú Ó Tuathail, then head of the National Association of General Practitioners, on a date between 11 and 16 April 2019
Mr Varadkar said that at that point the agreement had been reached, and the nature of that agreement was not something that was confidential or sensitive after 6 April 2019. He said this information was in the public domain.
He also said that the then-government had publicly committed to keep the NAGP informed as to the progress of negotiations on the agreement.
Mr Varadkar said this occurred in circumstances where "the legitimate objective of this action was to encourage acceptance of the agreement among the General Practitioner community."
However he said he accepts that "the provision of the agreement by an informal communication channel to the President of the NAGP was not best practice and he regrets that he did not ensure that it was provided in a more appropriately formal manner."
The Tánaiste said there was "nothing in any way unlawful" about the provision of the agreement Dr Ó Tuathail.