John O'Donoghue shouldn't have done it. His decision to lead out the Irish team in Croke Park last week was crass and opportunistic.
It's always a bit cringe-making when politicians try to piggyback on the success of sporting heroes (with the possible exception of Charlie Haughey and Stephen Roche on the Champs which was so over-the-top that it was a great laugh), but to do so last Saturday was offensive. The Government is in the process of cutting the very services on which some of the Irish team depend. In the circumstances, John should have stayed in the stand.
The issue of intellectual disability is an eggshell issue at the best of times and the Games have made things worse. There are very real questions which we need to debate but it seems to be nigh-on impossible to do so without offending someone somewhere. As a result, most of us either keep our mouths shut or resort to politically correct formulae, which are often insincere and sometimes hypocritical.
Do we really want to give disabled people a legally enforceable right to treatment and services? Do we really want to provide disabled people with lifelong education or training? Do we really want to spend a fortune on people with special needs when we already spend far too little on people with ordinary needs? Tough questions but they need to be asked.
Tim O'Malley was sent out to bat on Thursday by the Government. It was a woefully inept performance littered with hostages to fortune. He said the cuts in last year's budget would be reversed even though he admitted freely he hadn't a notion where the money would come from. He said he would introduce rights-based legislation in the autumn even though Bertie Ahern, Michael McDowell and Brian Lenihan have all poured cold water on the idea in recent days.
Tim is a decent and well-meaning man but then so too was Mary Wallace until she got turned over by Finance and ditched by Bertie. Those eggshells can seriously damage your political health!
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News of Feargus Flood's resignation reached Drapier late. It certainly has been a bad week for him. The Prime Time story about costs was a bit of a hatchet job and somewhat dated, but damaging nonetheless. It may be perfectly reasonable to look for pay increases for your staff but it plays poorly with the public.
Flood's letter to the AG, which was kindly copied to all TDs by the Government, was odd to say the least. In the letter he writes not once but several times that the strain of being chairman of the tribunal is just too much for him. For some reason deciding the issue of costs seems to hold particular dread for the judge. Clearly the man wanted out.
For most of us, this came out of the blue and Drapier had more than several fruitless, though entertaining, conversations with colleagues trying to concoct a plausible theory. Sadly to no avail.
There has been a seismic shift in attitudes to the tribunals in Leinster House. Until recently it was rare enough for anyone to question seriously how the tribunals, in particular the Flood tribunal, do business.
Government people were (correctly) concerned that any effort on their part to alter the modus operandi would be seen as a cover- up. Opposition parties were quite happy to allow the tribunals to chug along with occasional scandalous revelations, which normally reflected badly on Fianna Fáil.
Now all that has changed. The thing is costing too much and taking too long. Moreover, the public has clearly made up its mind on the big issues and the main personalities and nothing other than something really startling is going to alter the settled view.
It may not be very fair but the jury of public opinion has already returned the guilty verdict even if much of the evidence is yet to be heard. If Michael McDowell decides to grasp the nettle and break up Flood he will meet with little resistance. Except of course for Gilmartin and Quarryvale. It may be that Bertie has nothing to fear from Gilmartin but one way or another, it will have to be played out in public.
Bertie's standing is more fragile of late and any attempt to avoid a public hearing would play very badly. Chances are that Bertie knows this better than most.
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The health debate is decidedly strange.
Drapier had expected that all hell would break loose once the Government decided to abolish the health boards and take on the consultants. It hasn't happened. True the consultants are a bit bothered but most everyone else seems happy enough. Even the Opposition parties lack conviction in their criticism.
Drapier is confused by all this. The changes proposed are genuinely radical and there should be a major row. As of now, there isn't and you have to wonder why.
Drapier has concluded that the punters have given up on the health service. They just don't believe that anything is going to make things better, not money, not structural reform, not taking on the vested interests, not anything. And many of the health professionals clearly don't believe the Government will have the bottle to carry through the changes in the first instance. Micheál Martin has been talking a good game since the proposals were published and Niamh Brennan has been truly impressive but you still have to wonder whether they have the nerve to follow through.
Of course, even if they do the business on structures, they will still need to find the money to fund the extra beds and facilities, which were promised before the last election. The chances of that happening are slim to nil. So why bother with all the hassle?