Martin set to be cleared by report into nursing home charges

MICHÉAL MARTIN is set to be cleared today of any oversight in his handling of the illegal charging of public nursing home patients during his term as Minister for Health.

The report into the illegal deductions of pensions by the State is expected to conclude that, given the significance of the issue, it was never brought to Mr Martin’s attention by civil servants in an appropriate manner.

This morning, Health Minister Mary Harney will bring the report by former Forfás chief John Travers to the Cabinet with a view to publishing it in the afternoon. The bill for the repayments to more than 300,000 pensioners, their families and estates could hit €2 billion.

Enterprise Minister Micheál Martin will still come under heavy fire from opposition parties over the affair today, but sources last night said that the report’s findings will show that neither he nor other ministers were ever properly briefed by officials in a substantial way on the problem.

Spreading the blame over almost three decades dating back to 1976, the Travers Report is expected to criticise officials in the Department of Health.

In the report, Mr Travers is also understood to note the department and health boards were reluctant to defend the practice of charges for patients in long-stay institutions in the knowledge it would not stand up in the courts.

Ms Harney’s cancellation of her St Patrick’s Day trip to San Francisco was attributed by sources last night to her feeling she needed to be around in the coming days to deal with the fallout of the report.

It was confirmed Ms Harney examined the report over the weekend and will publicly respond to its conclusions and recommendations today, while the Taoiseach said he has not studied it in great detail.

The remaining members of a special Cabinet sub-committee on the deductions, Finance Minister Brian Cowen and Attorney General Rory Brady, have also received copies, but Mr Martin has not yet seen it.

Ahead of the publication, Fine Gael health spokesman Dr Liam Twomey said he wanted the Travers Report to answer critical questions about Mr Martin’s knowledge of the illegal charges.

Last night, doubts were cast over the report’s publication as there were suggestions officials may try to take out court injunctions.