Health Minister Reilly's "Stroke Politics"

[musashi]

James Reilly responded to a Dail question from Pearse Doherty earlier this week:

http://namawinelake.wordpress.com/20...in-april-2012/

Remarkable insofar as he actually deigned to respond to the question this time - out of character, to say the least.

This man is deserving of total contempt. He is not alone.

Concur, but he's going from strength to strength.

+1 How he is still minister is beyond me, anyone with any sense of respect would ahve resigned by now ...

Respect, ethics, morals, things that Irish politics is bereft of.

Personally, as a member of Fine Gael, I think that the decision to locate the new children's hospital in Lusk is a good one and the contract that has gone to Reilly & Friends PLC makes perfect commercial sense.

Warning: this post may contain irony which some people may find harmful.

You had me going for a sec there.

[PaddyJoe]

Reilly is a pretty crap politician when it come to the strokes. Hope he's a better doctor.

Two locations in Minister for Health James Reilly’s north Dublin constituency were added to a list of places chosen for primary care centres on the evening before they were announced by the Government, newly released documents reveal.

Further changes were made to the list including the addition of Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon, and Kilkenny just hours before the list of centres was announced as part of the Government’s stimulus package last July, the documents obtained under freedom of information show.

The documents reveal a flurry of last-minute changes in July after the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) told the Department of Health for the first time that the locations would be published at the time of the stimulus announcement.

At that point, on July 16th, 33 locations were on the list. However, the Department of Health then drew up its “final list”. A memo sent to DPER at 8pm on that day – the day before the announcement – submitted a new list with Swords, Balbriggan and Oranmore added, and South Dublin removed.

The following day another memo from the Department of Health, marked “urgent – revisions”, stated that there were “changes to last night’s list”.

“There are now 36 locations. Ballaghaderreen is new . . . Kilkenny is new, Castlecomer is out, Oranmore is out,” the memo stated. It was sent at 11:55am, almost 1½ hours after that week’s Cabinet meeting started.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...327043733.html

[ang]

Back on front page - Primary care list altered evening before launch.

There are now 36 locations. Ballaghaderreen is new . . . Kilkenny is new, Castlecomer is out, Oranmore is out,” the memo stated. It was sent at 11:55am, almost 1½ hours after that week’s Cabinet meeting started.

Fianna Fáil health spokesman Billy Kelleher said last night the new information posed serious questions for Dr Reilly and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore. He said the Tánaiste told the Dáil there was documentation which could be sought under freedom of information on the background to Mr Reilly’s decision. Mr Kelleher said nowhere in documents released did this explanation exist. A spokesman for the Minister did not return calls last night

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...327043733.html

[jmcc]

So is this the smoking gun? Will this take out Reilly and, possibly, Hogan?

Regards...jmcc

[PaddyJoe]

Whatever happened to whatshername?

[ang]

So is this the smoking gun? Will this take out Reilly and, possibly, Hogan?

Regards...jmcc

Unless there is open rebellion in FG and Labour its doubtful.

[PaddyJoe]

It actually gets worse for Reilly. When has a civil servant ordered an investigation into his own Minister?

THE top civil servant in the Department of Health launched a probe into his own minister, Dr James Reilly, in the wake of the controversy over the decision to locate two primary care centres in his constituency.

Ambrose McLoughlin, the department's secretary general, ordered an investigation after revelations in the Irish Independent that a supporter of Dr Reilly owned the site of a proposed primary care centre in Balbriggan, Co Dublin

Informed sources said it was Mr McLoughlin's "sole decision" to launch the probe and Dr Reilly was aware it had been launched.

However, the unprecedented probe raises questions about the trust in Dr Reilly within his own department at the highest level.

The probe was initiated the day after Dr Reilly was ordered by Taoiseach Enda Kenny to assure Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore he was not involved in the selection of the Balbriggan site.

Mr McLoughlin was present at the meeting with Mr Gilmore, as was Tony O'Brien, acting head of the HSE.

Afterwards, Mr Gilmore said: "They have told me directly that there was no ministerial involvement in the selection of any particular site for a primary care centre."

Mr McLoughlin ordered the investigation after the Irish Independent revealed that the site was owned by Seamus Murphy, a Balbriggan developer.

http://www.independent.ie/national-n...s-3303030.html

[DCon]

M Martin suggests Reilly should resign

The Fianna Fáil leader, Micheál Martin, has called for the resignation of the Minister for Health James Reilly.

The move follows a report in today's Irish Times, which claims two locations in the Minister's north Dublin constituency were added to a list of places chosen for primary care centres, the night before the Government announced the plans.

Mr Martin said he believed there was an absence of leadership and a lack of direction at the Department of Health.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/1124/ff-reilly-resign.html

[DCon]

Shortall

Former minister of state Róisín Shortall has said released documents showing two locations in the Minister for Health’s constituency were added to a list of primary care centres the evening before the list was published shows “stroke politics” were behind the decision.

She said Mr Reilly “started off by assisting some of his colleagues and looking after some of his colleagues, and then at the last minute slipping in another four, two of which were in his own constituency”.

“This documentation gives the lie to the many convoluted excuses and justifications that Minister Reilly and his colleagues gave in the Dáil and elsewhere to claim that there was some other criteria used . . . other than pure political patronage”.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...reaking13.html

[Dr. FIVE]

didn't see all of sixone. Did they cover this?

[PaddyJoe]

didn't see all of sixone. Did they cover this?

Good question. I only saw the first couple of minutes as well.

[Saoirse go Deo]

M Martin suggests Reilly should resign




http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/1124/ff-reilly-resign.html

http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0309/charges.html

[Dr. FIVE]

Just watched it back and nope. JR is dead though.

Lest we forget

Dr Reilly said he had paid €15,000 last year to the Communications Clinic, whose directors are public relations consultant Terry Prone and Tom Savage, the chairman of the RTÉ board.

[PaddyJoe]

Just watched it back and nope. JR is dead though.

Lest we forget

I thought the Six One was giving an unusual amount of coverage to a protest

[Dr. FIVE]

lol, too true.

Odd they would ignore a front page IT story