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LAST UPDATE | 21 Aug 2020
THE SINN FÉIN leader Mary Lou McDonald has said that Taoiseach Micheál Martin has refused her request to recall the Dáil in the wake of the latest government controversy that has erupted in the last 24 hours.
She has joined Labour leader Alan Kelly and a number of other opposition TDs calling for the Dáil to be recalled after another bad week for the government.
This evening, Martin said that the Dáil would not be recalled this week. “The government doesn’t run the Dáil,” he said on RTÉ’s Six One News. “Our immediate focus is the re-opening of schools.”
Dara Calleary today became the second Fianna Fáil agriculture minister to lose his job in as many months, as he resigned in the wake of the Oireachtas Golf Society event on Wednesday night which was attended by over 80 people.
The fallout has seen apologies from a Supreme Court judge, a string of senators and two TDs who were at the event.
The government is also under pressure with schools due to open again next week, and calls are growing to discuss the latest developments around Covid-19 in the Dáil.
In a tweet, Sinn Féin’s McDonald said: “Have spoken with the Taoiseach. He has refused my request to recall the Dáil.
“He is wrong. The government is increasingly chaotic, confused, with no direction. They must be held to account.”
Green Party TD Neasa Hourigan also this evening called on the Dáil to reconvene as soon as possible.
“People are livid and rightly so. So many people have given up so much voluntarily in the past months, and second-guessed everything they did,” she said.
“The Dáil must return in early September to try to restore the public’s confidence that the pandemic is being managed well, that our young people are being protected, and people’s concerns are being listened to.”
Labour’s Alan Kelly also called for the Dáil to be recalled in the wake of the scandal.
He said: “There must be a new government Minister put in place to deal with the outbreaks we have seen in the meat processing sector. This cannot be left for three weeks while there are still clusters appearing in meat factories.
It is essential now that the Taoiseach recall the Dáil next week so that a new Minister can be appointed and those in our parliament who attended the dinner can make statements. Further, the Dáil must meet to deal with the critical issues facing our country including the reopening of our schools, the Leaving Cert and the confusion over Covid-19 restrictions.
Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, Kelly said he has been in politics a long time and has rarely seen the public so angry about something.
He called on Martin to talk to European Commissioner for Trade Phil Hogan about his attendance at the event and state publicly whether or not he has confidence in Hogan.
This evening, a spokesperson for Hogan said that he had already apologised after Martin said that he should make a “meaningful response”.
‘A long conversation’
In relation to the attendance of Supreme Court judge Seamus Woulfe, Kelly said: “If he was still the Attorney General, he wouldn’t be in the position of Attorney General now, there’s no doubt about that.
“Obviously there is a separation of powers here. But having said that, I’m very uncomfortable that a judge was at an event like this and I don’t think it’s appropriate.”
Kelly said the Chief Justice will now likely “sit down and have a long conversation” with Woulfe about his attendance and position.
Woulfe earlier apologised “unreservedly” and said he regrets attending the event.
Speaking on the same programme, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath said: “I think it’s very obvious that the event should not have taken place, and those who attended, should not have attended.”
In relation to Woulfe, McGrath stated: “I am speaking as a member and on behalf of government and so I do have to uphold our Constitution and respect the separation of powers … but it is up to each person, irrespective of what position they hold, to give an account for themselves, of what they did, the reasoning behind their decision, and their response to that now.”
McGrath said it is “not acceptable” that people in “very privileged positions” are not abiding by the same rules as the general public.
With reporting by Órla Ryan and Dominic McGrath
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Two years ago I had an accident that involved my hand getting cut with a chainsaw (seriously don’t ask!). It all healed up well but I developed a granuloma which is just basically a bump of gooey skin that healed to fast. I needed it removed and they gave me a date for six weeks later to get it removed. In the mean time I fell up the stairs causing the lump to just rip off. I rang to cancel the appointment because I obviously no longer needed it removed. Two years later I am still getting letters giving me new appointments because I didn’t show up for my previous one. I’ve rang every time I’ve gotten a letter to explain and they are still sending me letters. I think it’s about time that they started to worry about the people that really need day procedures and stop concerning themselves with people that don’t or aren’t bothered.
What happened?
Holding a stick and it hopped when my dad was sawing it and it pulled my hand under the chainsaw! I now only have three and a half fingernails on one hand! But hey I look real cool now!
Only when people need these services themselves or they see close friends and family suffering do they realize how big this problem is….to everyone else it’s just numbers. Our healthcare is nearly third world…god help anyone who needs it.
Our healthcare is world class – that’s part of the problem, illnesses that would previously have meant people would never even be considered for surgery are now just a routine part of the history.
Waiting lists are due to a great many things – a big one being the difficulty in emptying beds once people are well. Funding has long since disappeared for things like step down or convalescence placements, so patients end up stuck in beds that could be used to reduce waiting lists.
“Nearly third world”????? If you had ever seen a third world health system you would realise that, no matter what problems our system has, there is a VAST spectrum of quality between Ireland and the Third World.
Idiot.
I think Dominic meant in comparison to what it was, or could be, the quality of our Health System has seriously gone down hill in recent times.
I was talking to a surgeon from Sudan a few weeks ago, he told me how he and a few colleagues wanted to kit out an entire operating theatre in the Sudan with all the equipment needed to run it, from monitors to lights and operating tables. If he bought them here he’d have to buy from a prescribed list of approved manufacturers and that would cost anywhere from 300k to 500k, far beyond their budget. He asked an engineer what he should do and was told to look elsewhere, he did. He got everything he needed for less than 30k, delivered, brand new, with guarantees and support. He and his colleagues are over the moon, they can now offer a state of the art service for free, as their clients have no money to pay – in the Third World.
This is where we are going wrong. We, in the so called First World believe we have to have the equipment that carries the recognized brand names, it has to come from “approved lists” and not common sense. It should be a case of can it do the same job, is it half the price, or even better a quarter the price. If a surgeon can kit out an entire theatre for 1/10 the price it costs here then surely we’re doing something wrong.
Jed I this is true, My husband lost hip due to infection in hospital, with only one hip he could not walk, I had to fight for almost a year with HSE for motor wheelchair, I was told it would be impossible as the ones they did have cost more than 8k, I went to a place that had the type of wheelchair my husband needed, the owner said he had his name registered with HSE and his Wchairs cost 1k. I wrote a letter to HSE asking why they used a dealer who was charging 8k, when they had another dealer with almost the same type of Wchair for 1k. The nurse who helped my husband at home read it and said she would like to take letter and show it to a few in HSE. Within 6 weeks my husband had his Wchair and guess who supplied it, the dealer at 1k. I asked then who was the dealer charging 8k, of course I got no reply this was 2 yrs ago. I can verify this at any time. The special bed my husband was given is actually rented from another company, seems a lot of these beds have been rented yearly by HSE along with a lot of other equipment for a very long time. Should I push my luck and ask how much they are paying for the bed/beds, also who these dealers/companies might be. I think people have a right to know where the millions are going.
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Good friend of mine is waiting a year for a triple by-pass with no sign of him getting it!! Absolute disgrace!!
Time to strike a deal with private hospitals.
Ironically enough, i bet they can do a lot of procedures cheaper.
Don’t know if appointments to see consultants count under this…but been waiting over 12 months to see a pain specialist now!
There is a waiting list to see consultants. There is a whole series of layers before you even get in a list to get treated.
Another fail by Reilly.
My brother has been waiting for hospital
Appointment for a few months now, not terribly urgent but still needs treatment. Got appointment yesterday for, wait for it…….June 14. Rang hospital to see if it’s a mistake but no.
I have been waiting for a routine scan for 4 yrs and the hospital called me 3 weeks ago to find out if I wanted to stay on the waiting list …… My response to that person was ” well I’ve been waiting 4 yrs sure what’s another 4 ” one does not know what the other is doing in the HSE system . We are all just a number …
Does having private health insurance makes any difference?
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