Philomena Canning’s victory joy was premature

The HSE dropped the case against her... but Philomena Canning has not worked since then, writes Michael Clifford

IN Irish public life, there is no greater tool for dealing with a problem than ‘The Report’. If in doubt, commission a report. If in a corner, suggest a report. If in need of buying-time, a report’s your only man. And if you want to get rid of somebody, commission a report to wield the knife.

So it was with Enda Kenny and Fennelly. In Kenny’s case, ‘The Report’ bought both time and political cover. Niall Fennelly produced his report 17 months after the controversial resignation of the garda commissioner, Martin Callinan. And in seconding the investigation to Fennelly, Kenny put it up to the retired judge, a man schooled in the importance of the separation of powers, to produce something that could lead to the resignation of the elected leader of the country. Smart move on Kenny’s part, which got him out of an immediate jam.