Travers report - Politicians should be accountable

The report of John Travers, the former head of Forfás, clearly demonstrates that the Department of Health was aware of uneasiness over the illegal practice of withholding part of the pensions of nursing home residents over the past 28 years.

During that period, health board officials, eminent barristers and others articulated concerns about the practice, but nothing was done, and now the Exchequer is faced with repayment bills amounting to billions of euro.

According to the Travers report, the shortcomings were at both the political and administrative levels. The administrative failures were most obvious, because the report catalogues the systematic failure of the Department of Health to deal with the pensions issue, even though departmental officials were repeatedly warned of the dubious legality of withholding any of the money.

Yet, in a service that is notorious for committing things to paper, the officials were unable to demonstrate convincingly that they had informed their political masters.

Even Tánaiste Mary Harney admitted there was a “serious conflict of evidence” between Michael Kelly, the Secretary General of the Department of Health, and former Minister for Health Mícheál Martin. Having failed to demonstrate conclusively that he passed on the warnings to the Minister for Health, Mr Kelly has dutifully agreed to fall on his sword as part of the ritual of bureaucratic cover-up.

One of the more disconcerting aspects of the report is the disclosure that a crucial 2004 file has gone missing with the draft of a letter to the Attorney General seeking legal advice, along with a position paper on the controversy. This smacks of the worst kind of bureaucratic cover-up.

The report indicates that Mr Martin was absent from part of a meeting of December 16, 2003, at which the legality of the pensions issue was discussed, but his two political advisers were present.

Mr Travers concluded, however, that the Departmental officials should not have assumed that the advisers passed on the advice to the Minister. But that does not exonerate Mr Martin, because he should be held equally responsible for the efficiency of his advisers. It was he who appointed them.

Any incompetence on their part was therefore a reflection on Mr Martin’s own competence, and he should be held accountable for their professional conduct.

Two Ministers of State at the Department of Health were also present at the meeting, but they did not pass on any misgivings to the Minister. In the circumstances, the Leader of the Opposition, Enda Kenny was justified in comparing the Ministerial trio to the three monkeys who heard nothing, saw nothing, and did nothing.

In his response, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern appeared to try to make a virtue of not learning from past mistakes. In over a quarter of a century, Ministers for Health from all three major parties looked at the issues and then moved away from them, he argued, as if their failure was justification for his own unwillingness to hold anybody accountable.

The public has been confronted with a whole series of political foul-ups and administrative blunders costing hundred of millions and now billions. Mr Kelly is being sacrificed, but, as usual, there is no political accountability.