HSE chief defends absence from authority briefing

New HSE chief Tony O’Brien has defended his absence from the authority’s announcement of the latest raft of health cuts.

Mr O’Brien, who has emphasised the need for accountability, said he believed the HSE spokespeople at Thursday’s press briefing were best placed to answer detailed questions. Asked what he was doing, at that time, when the €130m in cuts were announced, Mr O’Brien said he was preparing the speech he delivered at a conference in Trinity College Dublin yesterday.

Mr O’Brien, who was a guest speaker at the Implementation Science Summer School in TCD, said he had also spent part of Thursday meeting with system managers.