Responsibility shirked - HSE officials must be accountable

Controversy has arisen over a decision by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to notify the Newstalk Radio station that it will no longer furnish it with press releases, process inquiries, grant interviews, or advertise with the station. The HSE accuses the station of bullying junior clerical staff by putting them on air.

This is a naked attempt by senior officials to shirk their own responsibilities. Senior officials are fobbing off their duties onto junior officials and then behaving with mock indignation, because the junior officials feel intimidated at being unable to answer questions. It is the senior officials who are responsible for the bullying, because they are shirking their responsibility to act in an accountable manner.

Worse, government ministers are essentially supporting this contemptible attitude by refusing to grant interviews. This sinister behaviour is the height of contemptible arrogance.