Government ignores the fact its purpose is to serve the public
It was conducted by the UCD Institute of Criminology. The recidivism rate would seem to suggest that whatever about a deterrent, prison is not much good at reforming people.
We have been closing our mental hospitals and putting people in jail instead. The incidences of serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, recorded in a study of Irish prisons in 2005 was twice the rate in similar studies in international prisons. Another study concluded that 60% of female and 35% of male prisoners suffer from mental illness. Rather than helping or hospitalising those people, we are jailing them.
Granada Television did a programme in 1964 based on the Jesuit motto taken from a St Francis Xavier quote: “Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man.” The programme, called Seven Up, was a series of interviews with 14 seven-year old children from various British social backgrounds.
In 1971 they did a sequel, Seven Plus Seven, and every seven years since they have updated it by interviewing as many of the original people as possible. The most recent programme in 2005 was 49 Up.
As a kind of social experiment, it is fascinating to see the development of those people. One of the most active of the seven-year-olds was Tony from the East End of London. He expressed the ambition to be a jockey. By 21 his chance had come and gone. He did ride in three races, and he was thrilled that he rode against Lester Piggott in one of them.
He did not achieve his early ambition, but he was content that he gave it a try. How many people ever achieve their ultimate ambition? Tony became a taxi-driver but he is the kind of person who would be the life and soul of any party. He has friends and golfing partners from all classes of society. You could see, looking at the seven-year-old, that he was going to be a success and that some of the others would fall by the wayside.
That programme came to mind while watching the Prime Time Special on Monday night. It is not often that a programme can captivate the imagination of a nation, but I think this one did, with the story of Jordan Kelly, the seven-year-old suffering from ADHD. What is that boy’s future? His parents are obviously in dread, as they described themselves as trying to hang on to him while he is hanging over a figurative cliff.
He could be anybody’s child. It was heartrending to listen to him talk about himself as some kind of robot being controlled, or to hear that he is never invited to other children’s parties. Watching his behaviour, you could understand the reluctance of other parents. Jordan is clearly in need of special treatment, but his parents have been unable to get it for him for the past five years.
In the circumstances, junior minister Tim O’Malley’s remarks blaming consultants became particularly offensive.
He made the mistake of generalising. There are undoubtedly some unscrupulous doctors who do build up waiting lists, but O’Malley seemed to be trying to excuse his department’s failure on the basis that all the waiting lists are deliberately inflated. From the reaction of some people, however, one would think that it is outrageous that someone would think such a thing of any consultant.
There are unscrupulous people in all professions — in journalism, teaching, business, banking, politics, sport, religion and medicine. But just because there are some unscrupulous people does not mean that a whole profession is twisted. O’Malley should have named names.
IN recent years some of the former pillars of respectability at the pinnacle of society are found closer to the other end, such as bankers, bishops, politicians, priests and doctors. In 1979, when Charlie Haughey legalised the sale of condoms for bona fide family planning purposes, it was an effort to placate the hierarchy by requiring a doctor’s prescription to purchase a condom. Even though this seemed crazy even at the time, the Catholic hierarchy was still considered so powerful that no politician would take them on.
Kevin Moore, of the Irish Independent, suggested to Haughey that the Irish Medical Association would balk at doctors writing prescriptions for condoms. “Listen Kevin,” Charlie told him, “those f***ers will do anything for money.” Wow!
In a way, that was what Tim O’Malley was saying, but not as crudely. Following the programme, it was ironic that the spotlight was turned on O’Malley and not the young people whose plight had been so graphically highlighted. The politicians were too busy going after one another.
I would have thought the first thing that any sensitive or even sensible member of the Government would do would be to contact the people involved and try to do something for them. O’Malley made a mistake, but the only thing that seemed to matter within the Government was to bury and forget about the mistake as soon a possible.
No effort was made to correct it, or rectify the perception that the department and the Health Service Executive — which have failed those young people so shamefully — does not give a damn. They could have announced some initiative; it would have been late, but not as late as it is now.
Back in January 1980, while flying to Washington, DC, I happened to be sitting next to a US Supreme Court Judge and Charles Percy, the chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee. Percy said he had a call that morning to try to get admission to the United States for somebody fleeing from Iran. He said his ability to help such individuals in trouble gave him his greatest satisfaction as a politician.
Sharon Kelly, Jason’s mother, said she did not hear from either the Government nor public service following the Prime Time programme. “Nobody has been in contact with us to discuss anything about the health service,” she told Morning Ireland on Thursday. “We had a very nice phone call from Enda Kenny yesterday who said he would personally take on Jordan’s case and push for whatever services he can get.”
With this quiet, private gesture, he is the one politician who stands out in this whole sorry mess.
Some cynic may say that is politics, but, then, providing a public service is what politics is supposed to be about. It seems that this Government, with its army of spin-doctors, has forgotten that.
It is so busy holding on to office that it has forgotten that it is all supposed to be about public service. Instead, it is throwing people’s own money at them and expecting gratitude in return. Any fool can spend somebody else’s money, but the Government seems to think the public is going to be fooled.
That is a real insult.
Government politicians think like Charlie Haughey, and their attitude towards us reeks of the type of contempt he had for the doctors. By its indifference to the Prime Time message this week, the government demonstrated that it believed the Budget would make us forget everything.
“Listen,” they were saying, in effect, “those f***rs will do anything for money!”
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