Lynch ‘embarrassed’ by civil servants’ lack of response on idle scanner

A GOVERNMENT minister refused to explain why vital cancer equipment at Cork University Hospital (CUH) has been repeatedly delayed because the lack of any information from civil servants has left her “embarrassed”.

Minister of State at the Department of Health, Kathleen Lynch, took the highly unorthodox step during a late-night Dáil adjournment debate on the multimillion-euro PET-CT scanner on Wednesday.

As revealed by the Irish Examiner last week, the Health Service Executive finally authorised the appointment of four key staff to run the scanner — which cost €3.8 million when it was purchased in early 2009 — last November.