Coalition feels the heat . . . and not just from the sun

The sun shone down on Leinster House and its grounds yesterday, but it was the only light observed. In the Dáil chamber, the mood was dark.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny, flanked by Ministers Leo Varadkar and Pat Rabbitte on the Government benches, was contrite as he spoke of the earlier Cabinet U-turn on discretionary medical cards.

He said the decision to centralise the system and to have equality of examination had resulted in many families being severely inconvenienced. “I am very sorry that many of the cases that were brought to light, on foot of the examination of discretion, caused a great deal of stress for people.’’

It was a long way from the defence of the system by the Taoiseach, Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore, and a succession of Ministers, in a long run-up to the European and local elections when Fine Gael and Labour were hammered. The U-turn and the contrition had been slow in coming and the Opposition went for the jugular.

Faint praise

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said it had been all of 18 months since he

had begun raising the removal of cards from very sick children and people with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions with the Taoiseach.

And then he damned Kenny with faint praise. “In fairness, he has moved from a position of total denial of any policy change, which resulted in a dramatically high number of cards being removed from so many deserving people, to blaming a systems failure.’’

Martin poured scorn on the Government's explanation, advanced by Minister for Health Dr James Reilly, that the debacle was an unintended consequence of a budgetary decision. It was some hell of an unintended consequence, he added.

Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams also took off the political gloves He asked if the Taoiseach agreed the embarrassing U-turn was further evidence that Dr Reilly and the Government were making up policy as they went along. Dr Reilly should go, he said.

An admission of imperfection followed the Taoiseach’s earlier contrition. “I think it is a case of the extent of the impact on families being recognised by the Government,’’ he said. “It is not all perfect by any means.’’

Independent TD Róisín Shortall, who resigned as Labour minister of state for health, was listening intently. “The Taoiseach only realises that now,’’ she observed.

Adams was as scathing as Martin about the “unintended consequence’’ explanation. Shortall gave a smile oozing incredulity and shook her head in agreement with the Sinn Féin leader’s assertion.

Later, Independent TD Clare Daly predicted the "toothless banking inquiry'' would expose nothing, "except maybe a few toothless politicians to a bit of badly needed publicity''. Her one-time Socialist Party colleague Joe Higgins, co-opted to the committee yesterday, looked on.

Daly said the inquiry had about as much chance of getting to the bottom of what happened in the banking sector, "as Billy Bunter would have in finding out who robbed the school tuckshop''.

The Taoiseach and his colleagues, who had to consume a large quantity of humble pie yesterday, looked glum.

The Dáil sat late last night and some Government TDs took a break in the grounds of Leinster House as the sun went down. Fine Gael and Labour are feeling the heat and not just from the sun.