Harney criticised over failure of negotiations with Drumm

Opposition parties yesterday criticised Minister for Health Mary Harney over the collapse of negotiations on the appointment of Prof Brendan Drumm as chief executive of the Health Service Executive.

Labour Party health spokeswoman Liz McManus said the decision by Prof Drumm to turn down the post was "a damning vote of no confidence in the Minister and in her political leadership of the health sector".

"To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, to lose one chief executive is unfortunate, to lose two suggests carelessness," she said.

Ms McManus said it was nine months since the original appointment to the post of Prof Aidan Halligan, who also subsequently turned it down.

"When two such distinguished figures have decided that this is a poisoned chalice that they do not want, what are the prospects of getting another candidate of comparable standard?

"The fact that two candidates have turned down this post may also raise questions as to whether or not they regard the new structures for the health service to be workable," Ms McManus said in a statement last night.

Fine Gael spokesman on health Dr Liam Twomey said last night the result of Prof Drumm's decision to withdraw from the post was because the Government's healthcare reform programme was in a mess and this would get worse.

"Despite its establishment six months ago, the Health Service Executive has brought no reform whatsoever, only chaos, less transparency and less accountability for Government.

"There has been no change that one could classify as real progress - the regional health areas are just the old health boards under a new name. The Minister for Health is less accountable to the Dáil and no one seems to want to take up the position of CEO of such a crisis- ridden health service," he said.

Dr Twomey said this type of outcome was an example of what happened when real reform was rejected in favour of throwing money at problems.

Green Party health spokesman John Gormley said the Health Service Executive was the big idea of Mary Harney and the opposition had warned in advance that it would result in less accountability and more bureaucracy.

"It would seem that Prof Drumm was none too enchanted with the prospect of the bureaucratic entanglements when even a simple matter like his future entitlements could not be sorted out.

"Mary Harney promised us a world-class health service yet now she cannot even deliver a person to head up her new Health Service Executive," Mr Gormley said.

The president of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association, Dr Josh Keaveny, said that he was shocked and dismayed at the announcement that Prof Drumm would not be taking up the post.

"This is the second time in nine months that the executive has failed to appoint a CEO. Hospital consultants are in despair at the failure to put proper management structures in place for this vital service.

"The Health Service Executive has suffered greatly from a lack of management at senior level since its inauguration last January. Many senior posts in the organisation are currently vacant and await the appointment of a chief executive officer," Dr Keaveny said in a statement to The Irish Times last night.