Callely challenged to break his silence on Travers report

FORMER Junior Health Minister Ivor Callely was last night challenged to break his silence on the Travers report into illegal nursing home charges.

Although Mr Callely was directly responsible for the elderly during Micheál Martin's time as Health Minister, he has never defended his failure to act on information available to him about the illegality of charges levied against those in long-term care.

And unlike Mr Martin and Tánaiste Mary Harney who both faced questions on the Travers report in the Dáil, Mr Callely now a junior minister at the Department of Transport has so far remained silent about his role.

Fine Gael health spokesman Dr Liam Twomey last night called on Mr Callely to account for himself and said the junior minister's name should be added to a planned opposition motion of no confidence in Micheál Martin.

"He's gone as quiet as a Trappist monk with regard to this issue. The only thing he has said since the publication of the Travers report is that it vindicates him. As soon as we started asking the hard questions he went quiet again," said Dr Twomey.

Unlike his senior minister, Mr Callely was present throughout a crucial December 2003 meeting in Dublin's Gresham Hotel when legal advice on care charges obtained by the South Eastern Health Board was discussed.

"What role does Ivor Callely play at all in politics if he can't take his share of responsibility for all of this?" asked Dr Twomey.

Meanwhile, the Government last night denied accusations of a cover-up after it emerged that documents promised by Tánaiste and Health Minister Mary Harney will not now be released on foot of advice from the Attorney General.

The two documents were part of a briefing pack circulated to Mr Martin, Mr Callely and Minister Tim O'Malley in advance of December's Gresham meeting.

However, the Department of Health has now decided, at the behest of the Attorney General, to withhold the publication of the documents which contain crucial legal advice obtained by the South Eastern Health Board, as well as a memorandum prepared on foot of the advice.

A spokesman for Ms Harney denied the decision was a cover-up.

"There is no great mystery here. The Attorney General was asked for his opinion and he decided it wouldn't be possible to release them for legal reasons," he said.

But Dr Twomey said the decision not to publish a set of documents which had already been widely circulated among officials in all the health boards was an insult to Oireachtas members.

"These documents were already widely circulated among health board officials prior to the December 2003 meeting and to my mind it's a disgrace that they can't be circulated to members of the Oireachtas," he said.