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Brendan Howlin and Phil Hogan seen in January 2012 at the launch of the government's Green Public Procurement Action Plan. Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland

Documents show ministers announced hospital works before HSE Board knew

The opposition lashes out as RTÉ’s This Week obtains documents showing upgrades in Kilkenny and Wexford were fast-tracked.

Updated, 16:20

SINN FÉIN has launched a stinging criticism of government ministers after it emerged that health minister James Reilly fast-tracked upgrades to hospitals in the home towns of two of his cabinet colleagues.

Documents obtained by RTÉ’s This Week programme indicated that upgrades to St Luke’s Hospital in Kilkenny – the home town of environment minister Phil Hogan – and to Wexford General Hospital, in the home town of public expenditure minister Brendan Howlin – were ‘accelerated’.

RTÉ said the documents showed that the two ministers concerned had announced the new works on their local hospitals – in the first week of June 2011 – before the board of the HSE were even aware of the proposals to fast-track them.

Later exchanges between the HSE and the Department of Health showed the agency would need an extra €34 million to complete the works.

The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform – run by Howlin – allocated an extra €12 million for the works in Wexford, while the works St Luke’s would be funded by “efficiencies” in other hospital budgets.

Sinn Féin health spokesman Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said the developments outlined in the documents were “damning in the extreme”.

“Clearly this Fine Gael-Labour government is copying Fianna Fáil with cabinet cronyism ensuring the fast-tracking of favoured projects in the constituencies of ministers,” he said in a statement.

Is it now the case that the fate of hospitals will be determined by the presence or absence of cabinet ministers in the constituencies where hospitals happen to be located?

Ó Caoláin said he would be demanding accountability from the three ministers concerned when the Dáil reconvened on Tuesday.

Fianna Fáil’s Billy Kelleher called on Reily to immediately clarify the chain of events after the ‘disturbing’ revelations.

“People need to know on what basis these projects were chosen for investment, while services are being slashed at other hospitals across the country,” he said.

“We also need to know how Ministers Hogan and Howlin were in a position to announce these projects before the board of the HSE even knew.”

Read: More on the documents obtained by RTÉ’s This Week >

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51 Comments
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    Mute CrabaRev
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    Feb 26th 2019, 8:42 AM

    @Ann Lennon:
    From reading this and other articles, it would appear that the “fall from grace” was in his mind.
    A much more pertinent question, was the councillor with with whom he had 10 sessions suitably qualified to determine whether Hawe was a danger to himself or his family? I think “the two felt a connection.” is an extraordinary statement.

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    Mute James Wallace
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    Feb 26th 2019, 9:44 AM

    @John Jones: the point is they don’t know. The gardai won’t release the files and the school has never once contacted the family.

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    Mute James Wallace
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    Feb 26th 2019, 11:32 AM

    @John Jones: no, not a deliberate cover up, but the family are entiteled to some answers to their legitimate questions. The fact that the school has never contacted these people is not speculation, it’s fact, according to them.

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    Mute Anthony Gallagher
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    Feb 26th 2019, 10:32 AM

    Tragic and cruel, but there are far too many experts on here giving their twopence worth.If only mental health was that easy to diagnose,leave it to those that have some idea what they are talking about .

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    Mute Matt Beaumont
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    Feb 26th 2019, 10:41 AM

    @Anthony Gallagher: well obviously they didn’t in that case.

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    Mute John Jones
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    Feb 26th 2019, 10:46 AM

    @James Wallace: Do you think theres a cover up. I think it’s sad how there’s a massive slight being put on the school based on pure speculation.

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    Mute Jane
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    Feb 26th 2019, 2:18 PM

    @CrabaRev: I dont think it’s true to say the fall from grace was in his head. From the Independent.

    He has said in his own words that he was caught red-handed and we do know that he was looking at pornography….

    “We’ve had sight of the counselling notes and he had said he was masturbating somewhere that he shouldn’t have been… So we have pieces of information but we don’t know who caught him.
    “We do know, in the June, he cancelled all his counselling sessions and this all happened the day before he was to return to school,” she said. “He said that it was easier for them to die than to have to live with the truth of what he was doing.”

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    Mute Pauline Gallagher
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    Feb 26th 2019, 8:10 PM

    @Jane: The counselor said that he said this?? She was in a position to go to gardai with this information; patient confidentiality goes out the window when there is a real risk to life. Did she pass this information onto the guards before the murders?

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    Mute CrabaRev
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    Feb 26th 2019, 4:54 PM

    @Jane: I replied to your comment, but my comment was deleted for some weird Journal.ie reason. What you have just quoted from the Indo was a quote from Clodagh’s sister.

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    Mute GerryCummins
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    Feb 27th 2019, 12:19 AM

    It seems it is about the will, and who gets what! Which family benefits from the assets left over…I was wondering why this case had come up again. It is petty infighting between family…..over the assets left behind…

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    Mute Maria Hickey-Fagan
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    Feb 27th 2019, 12:57 AM

    @GerryCummins: would you ever stop. This is a broken, devastated family looking for answers.

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    Mute Anne O'Brien
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    Feb 28th 2019, 4:33 AM

    This Family needs answers, why do they not have the full story. Release all records if you will not share the truth. That councillor statement is bizarre, and a big worry if you ask me. Badly done school. I say wow Mammy, Sister, Granmother, and Aunt you are now fighting for the defenseless I really hope you get your answers. Why O Why

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    Mute helen walsh
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    Feb 27th 2019, 12:40 AM

    My comments are constantly removed, who is behind that? Is my personal information being given to cronies..

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