McGuinness calls Donnelly to account or resign
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly should be “fully accountable” for his actions in office or step down, a leading member of his own party has said.
Fianna Fáil Kilkenny TD John McGuinness, who is chairman of the Oireachtas finance committee, hit back at Mr Donnelly’s criticism on RTÉ radio on Tuesday, saying ‘his department is a shambles’.
On the radio, Mr Donnelly was asked about the recent controversy over his trip to Dubai with its general secretary Robert Watt at a time when Mr Watt’s salary dominated the agenda, as did the Kerry CAHM crisis. Mr McGuinness strongly criticized the two men’s participation in the Dubai show.
This scandal erupted after the Maskey Report found that “unreliable diagnoses, inappropriate prescribing and poor monitoring of treatment and potential adverse effects” put many children at significant risk of harm.
Mr Donnelly said he was not engaging in ‘sniping’ of his colleague, but said Mr McGuinness was the ‘last person he would lecture to’.
Mr McGuinnness, in comments to the Irish Examiner, said Mr Donnelly and his general secretary Robert Watt had refused to appear before committees to explain their actions on several issues, including the awarding of a £300 salary €000 to Mr. Watt.
“It is a contemptuous act unworthy of a minister or a senior official. In doing so, they have disrespected the Dail and paved the way for others, which undermines governance, accountability and transparency in this country. They should be ashamed of themselves,” he said.
“I think Minister Donnell and General Secretary Watt should be fully accountable for their actions in the Dail or resign,” he added.
In comments to the Irish Examiner, Mr McGuinness said Mr Donnelly’s comments were an attempt to distract from their unusual trip to Dubai and the circumstances of the extraordinary pay rise negotiated.
“It might be useful, despite what he says, for Mr. Donnelly to listen to a lecture from me, because his department is in shambles,” he said.
Mr McGuinness said he completely rejects any attempt by Mr Watt or Mr Donnelly to use it to distract from their trip to Dubai, Mr Watt’s pay rise or even the state of the health service and the children’s hospital under their supervision. .
The outspoken TD has defended the trips he took to Dubai when he was a minister, on the grounds that he was trade minister and that it “is part of the job”.
‘Mr Watt and Minister Donnelly are in the Department of Health and should have been on the front lines of dealing with the myriad issues in that department, rather than in Dubai at a trade fair,’ he said.
Will they say now that the Minister of Commerce was in charge of health during their absence? If so, maybe they should have stayed away, because anyone would be better off.
Regarding Mr Donnelly’s comments on his tenure as trade minister, Mr McGuinness said he had appeared before the public accounts committee to account for his actions as minister.
He said he did so because of adherence to Dail procedures and his belief that politicians should be held to account.
“Compared to what I did or did not do when I was a minister, let me say this: I appeared before the Public Accounts Committee for five hours to plead my case and defend myself, in which Fine Gael MP John Deasy said I was the subject of a plot by Fine Gael and others to discredit me,” he said.
Mr McGuinness and Mr Donnelly have clashed numerous times at the weekly meetings of the parliamentary party Fianna Fáil in recent weeks.
