Labour brands nursing home charges committee 'fascist'

An Oireachtas committee was today branded “fascist” and “anti-democratic” over its handling of a report on the illegal nursing homes charges debacle.

The all-party body’s findings on the 29-year saga will be published today after two months of public hearings totalling 35 hours.

However Fine Gael and Labour have accused coalition parties on the committee of censoring the report and ignoring up to a dozen vital issues.

Labour deputy leader Liz McManus said: “It’s quite clear that the agenda for the coalition parties from the start has been to protect the ministers from criticism. That was how they saw their role and that’s what they were determined to do.

“Not only did they succeed in doing that, but they succeeded in censoring out a whole raft of documentation that belongs to the public, should be in the public arena and should have been attached to this report as appendices.

“That does not serve democracy one whit. If anybody was defining fascism here it might be more appropriate to look at the censorship of public information as well as the political direction that this report has taken.”

Ms McManus said that the committee was entitled under its standing orders to publish documents and alternative views.

“It was the Government that prevented those alternative views being put into the report. That is anti-democratic in my view.”

She referred to 19th-century UK parliamentary expert Erskine May, who had been cited by committee chairman John Moloney yesterday.

“I don’t know why the chairman referred to Erskine May. But I went to the bother of getting the information and it seems to me that if we listen to Erskine May, the procedure we adopted in accepting this report was not adhered to, and if anything the status of this report has been totally undermined.

“This report must be thrown out because we haven’t gone through the proper procedure. Why don’t we just let the Government run this committee?”

Mr Moloney, a Fianna Fáil TD replied: “From day one we were never going to get agreement that (former minister for health) Micheál Martin acted properly.

“It’s a pity we had a press conference before a press conference. I cannot agree with claims of bullying and censorship.”

The backbencher said the committee report would make recommendations to ensure that the illegal nursing home charges would never be allowed to happen again.

Independent TD Jerry Cowley said: “This committee is the last vestige of democracy and if we can’t represent the views of the people then why are we here?"

Fianna Fáil senator Camillus Glynn said: “It appears to me that the opposition went after a scalp but unfortunately for them they had no tomahawk - and hence their reaction.”

He added: “My understanding of democracy is that when a vote is taken and somebody wins, that’s a democratic decision. But it seems now that it is only democracy when it suits the losers.

“This a new concept of democracy for me and you really have to tell me about it.”