I wasn't aware of charges, Martin tells Dáil

Former Minister for Health Micheál Martin today told the Dáil that if he had known about the illegal nursing home charges during his tenure, he would have alerted the Cabinet immediately.

Mr Martin strongly defended himself during a special debate on the Travers Report which yesterday blamed public servants for not briefing successive ministers on the importance of the matter.

Now the Minister for Employment and Enterprise, Mr Martin said in a speech to the Dáil: “If I had been aware that an illegal charge was in place, I would have dealt with it. The issue should have been brought to the attention of successive ministers, but it was not.”

Rejecting Opposition claims that he ignored the issue because of its political implications, Minister Martin said he always took hard decisions during his ministerial career.

He said Opposition TDs had tried to pre-judge the report and were now trying to spin its findings.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny repeated calls for Minister Martin to tender his resignation to the Taoiseach.

Earlier, Tánaiste Mary Harney confirmed that approximately 315,000 people were charged illegally during 28 years. “This was entirely wrong.”

“As vulnerable people, they were especially entitled to the protection of the law and to legal clarity about their situation,” she said.

In a simultaneous debate in the Seanad, Minister for Children Brian Lenihan said: “I don’t believe any political blame can be attached to the minister (Minister Martin) or the Ministers of State.”

Mr Lenihan wasn’t present at the crucial December 2003 meeting in Dublin at which the illegal charges were discussed as part of the agenda.

But he said he didn’t study the agenda or the minutes of the meeting as his private secretary assured him that no matters relevant to his responsibilities were discussed.

Former Health Minister Mary O’Rourke said: “I was always of the the opinion that there should be two secretary generals within the Department of Health.

“There should be one in charge of fire brigade actions, which erupted about 10 times a day in that department. And there should be one in charge of legislation and policy-making,” the senator added.

Mr Lenihan said that current restructuring of the department, including the establishment of the Health Services Executive, will reduce the heavy workload of the department and allow it to become more focused and efficient with its work.