Health warning: we risk falling into the hands of medical mercenaries

THERE was a time when it was trendy for parents to wish for a son to be a priest. But now it seems ambitious parents want their son to become a doctor, which is seen as both a prestigious and a lucrative position.

It is as if Charlie Haughey’s view of money has permeated our whole society at the expense of that ethos of serving humanity, which inspired so many people for so long.

A deputation of politicians once asked Haughey, as finance minister, for a £500 salary increase. He surprised them by promptly agreeing to give them £1,000 a year extra because he said he would get as much grief for one as the other. Now they have all adopted this attitude.