Health whistleblower 'performing valuable public service', says Donohoe

Mr Corr’s disclosure spurred the ongoing controversy surrounding the legal strategy undertaken by the State against those who were charged nursing home fees in recent decades, even when it was known the State would likely lose in court.

Speaking at the Oireachtas finance committee, Mr Donohoe was responding to questions from chairman John McGuinness who was asking about how such allegations were handled within his department and the Department of Health.

Despite Mr Corr coming in for stinging criticism for his actions, particularly from within the Department of Health, Mr Donohoe paid tribute to him.

“Mr Corr is performing a very valuable public service and the issues that he's raising, and whistleblowers have in general,” Mr Donohoe said.

On the nursing home issue, Mr McGuinness hit out at the strategy of “stonewalling” individuals until the discovery process and using the “might of the State” to dissuade people from taking cases.

He also referred to the tactic of “picking off” whistleblowers such as Maurice McCabe, Julie Grace, and Sean O’Brien, who were forced to take a case against the State to vindicate their name.

“Stonewall, deter, and defend is the legal strategy until such time as the person or their family are utterly defeated,” said Mr McGuinness. "This must change."

In response, Mr Donohoe said: “The whistleblowers that you've referred to, with the information they've made available to us, have played a very important role in our public life, and in helping us improve how we make public services available to our citizens.”

Referring to the legal opinion offered by Attorney General Rossa Fanning on Tuesday that the legal strategy was “appropriate”, Mr Donohoe said: “Our views on the issue is that the State has never legislated or has been obliged to deal with costs in relation to private nursing home care.”

He said the Government has worked to improve whistleblower protections, and that is why there is now a protected disclosures office within his department.

At the committee, Mr Donohoe revealed that his department will get an extra €300m, largely to cover a spike in pension payments and to cover the costs of the extended public-sector pay deal.

“The estimate I am proposing today — involving a gross provision of €807.6m — represents an increase of €21m,” he said.

"This increase reflects a higher number of pensioners on the fortnightly pension payroll. 

"The increase in gross expenditure is mitigated by an increase in contributions from the Single Public Service Pension Scheme."