Irish Examiner view: There is a time for plain speaking

Micheál Martin was unequivocal yesterday in condemning the Russian state for its involvement in the recent death of Alexei Navalny

Asked if he agreed with Mr Navalny’s widow Yulia, who told a meeting of EU foreign ministers last week that the Russian state had killed her husband, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said: “I do, there is no question about that.” Picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin was unequivocal yesterday in condemning the Russian state for its involvement in the recent death of dissident Alexei Navalny.

Asked if he agreed with Mr Navalny’s widow Yulia, who told a meeting of EU foreign ministers last week that the Russian state had killed her husband, the Tánaiste said: “I do, there is no question about that.”

That comment comes on the heels of the Department of Foreign Affairs summoning Russian ambassador Yuri Filatov in order to express its “outrage” at the death of Mr Navalny. At that meeting, representatives of the department had reiterated to Mr Filatov that the ultimate responsibility for Mr Navalny’s death rests with the “Russian leadership”.

In the rarefied air of international diplomacy these are unusually trenchant indications of disapproval.

Summoning an ambassador to be verbally chastised is a significant step in and of itself, but it is given added importance by the comments of the minister for foreign affairs.

If he says he believes that a country’s government has had one of its political opponents killed, that suggests a country where the rule of law does not operate.

It has been a testing few days in Ireland for diplomatic norms. The Israeli ambassador to Ireland, Dana Erlich, has been widely criticised for defending her country’s actions in Gaza, including the Israeli army’s attack on Nasser Hospital during which several patients were killed.

Last week, Independent TD Catherine Connolly suggested Ms Erlich be called before the Oireachtas to account for comments she has made in the media about the conflict in Gaza.

“That ambassador should be called in here before the Dáil and made account for the words that she’s using,” she said.

Candour is often anathema in diplomacy, which is rooted in compromise and equivocation. But plain speaking has a power all its own.

Change needed in UHL and HSE

The UL Hospitals Group has offered its “sincere condolences” and launched an internal investigation after the death of a teenage girl at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) three weeks ago. The health minister has said he believes it is imperative that such an investigation be conducted “quickly and thoroughly”.

This is the second high-profile inquiry into a teenage death at the hospital in recent years, following the death of Aoife Johnston, aged 16, from bacterial meningitis in UHL in 2022.

A review of Ms Johnston’s care identified a 12-hour delay in her undergoing sepsis care, among other concerns, and those findings led the HSE to announce an independent investigation of the death in early January.

UHL has been consistently among the worst-performing hospitals when it comes to patients on trolleys, and the teenager who died last month was on a trolley in a corridor when her condition deteriorated seriously.

The fact that no one is now surprised to learn that hundreds of hospital patients have to be accommodated on trolleys and chairs instead of beds is a shocking indictment of our healthcare system. This lack of beds in our hospitals has become normalised to a disturbing degree.

In this latest case, there are echoes of the death of Aoife Johnston which go beyond a shared age, and one hopes the HSE has learned some lessons. The review of the Johnston case found overcrowding to be “endemic” in UHL, with a further complication in the high turnover among nurses and non-consultant hospital doctors, which leads to “low experience levels and low situational awareness”.

The review itself proved controversial: The Johnston family lawyer pointed out that when the HSE announced that an investigation would follow the review, the Johnstons were not informed of the announcement beforehand.

“They learned it from the media,” said solicitor Damien Tansey. “The HSE know everything and they [the family] know nothing, except what they learn from the media.”

Serious change is necessary at UHL — and within the HSE when it comes to dealing with bereaved families.

Mortgage inquiry would be welcome 

The tracker mortgage controversy rumbled on for so long that readers may have lost track of the details. They would certainly be forgiven for being surprised that a specific individual is now facing an inquiry, as part of the Central Bank’s investigation into the scandal.

Former PTSB banker David Guinane is the first individual to appear before such an inquiry, following new laws which gave the Central Bank ramped up enforcement powers. The financial regulator’s inquiry began yesterday and is expected to last until the middle of March. Mr Guinane is challenging the inquiry’s investigation into his alleged participation in suspected regulatory breaches by the bank.

This scandal affected approximately 40,000 customers, when lenders removed the benefits of trackers, which placed significant financial pressure on many mortgage holders.

Over 300 houses were lost as a result. Those are significant numbers, so it is a welcome development to see this part of the investigation. While the banks responsible were fined for their actions, those are nominal sums for vastly profitable organisations. There also exists a widespread belief that any financial pain suffered by financial institutions in this way may be passed onto their customers in any case.

To have an individual face sanctions as a result of this alleged behaviour may mark a new chapter in Irish corporate life, one which encompasses responsibility for one’s actions, but we need more evidence to make such a claim.

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