Lobbying fuels dysfunction - Common good in second place

It is too early to come to any conclusion on the Vicky Phelan scandal. However, it has again highlighted the political culture so uneasy with its obligations to stand against self-serving lobbies that the disheartening question — is the tail wagging the dog? — is again unavoidable.

Late last year, after concerted pressure from the Hospital Consultants Association, the Irish Medical Organisation, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Association and — surprisingly — the State Claims Agency, the Government diluted legislation obliging doctors to admit mistakes. A pivotal phrase, one that encapsulated the spirit of the proposal, was rendered irrelevant when the disclosure requirement was made voluntary rather than mandatory. Lobbyists 1, Public 0.