Martin pressed to explain meeting

ENTERPRISE Minister Micheál Martin will come under intense pressure when he returns from Australia to explain what was discussed when he privately met with the secretary general of the Department of Health last December.

Mr Martin met Michael Kelly several days before the senior civil servant gave an “inaccurate” briefing on the legal consequences of nursing home charges to Tánaiste Mary Harney on December 14.

The spokesperson for the Enterprise Minister yesterday confirmed that the charges issue was discussed by both men at the half-hour meeting, held at Mr Kelly’s request.

But the spokesperson categorically denied that the meeting was secret, as reported this weekend, and insisted that Mr Martin became aware that the charges were illegal only when the Government later received the advice of the Attorney General.

The meeting was not “unusual”, maintained the spokesperson, as Mr Martin and Mr Kelly had worked together for five years.

“The context of the meeting was that Mr Kelly was alerting the minister to the issue and that it had crossed over with his time in the department,” said the spokesperson.

“He also told him that he was preparing a report for the Tánaiste.”

Yesterday, Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said that the disclosure, reported in the Sunday Tribune, required a “detailed explanation.”

“Up to now, Mr Martin’s frankly unbelievable position has been that not until Mary Harney got legal advice did he become aware of an issue estimated to cost the taxpayer €2 billion,” said Mr Rabbitte.

Fine Gael health spokesperson Dr Liam Twomey called on the Tánaiste to clarify the circumstances surrounding the meeting.

He said the public needed to know about the nature of the meeting, its purpose, and if the Tánaiste was aware of it.

And it now looks likely that opposition parties will table a no confidence motion in Mr Martin over the nursing home controversy when the Dáil returns after the St Patrick’s Day break next week.