Ahern accused of delaying report to avoid questions

The Taoiseach has dismissed Opposition claims that he contrived to delay the publication of the Travers report to avoid answering questions on its findings in the Dáil.

The report into the illegal charging of nursing home residents was originally to be published yesterday afternoon. However, the Government delayed its release until later today after receiving advice from the Attorney General that it should publish it through the Oireachtas.

The report will say the Department of Health was aware of potential problems in relation to the charges for 29 years.

Mr Ahern said that the Attorney General's advice was that the 167-page document had to be published before the Oireachtas first to protect it against possible litigation. "This advice has been given many times and that is the correct procedure," Mr Ahern added.

The Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny and the Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte this morning accused Mr Ahern of attempting to duck his responsibility to the Dáil by hiding behind the Attorney General.

The Dáil does not sit next week, and the following week Mr Ahern will be in Brussels attending a European Council meeting.

Mr Kenny said the Taoiseach had "succeeded in [his] objective of being able to escape from here for five weeks without having to answer questions" about the report. Mr Ahern's response was "shameful" and the Taoiseach was guilty of "the greatest political handwashing job since Pontius Pilate".

"You have no political courage", Mr Kenny said. "You are afraid to act as Taoiseach in terms of political accountability."

The Fine Gael leader also demanded to know whether or not Mr Ahern had either received or demanded the resignation of former Minister of Health Micheál Martin and his two former ministers of state.

Mr Rabbitte accused the Taoiseach of "sheltering an incompetent minister", namely Mr Martin. "The Taoiseach has contrived to evade his accountability to this house by delaying the publication of this report until after Leaders' Questions," he said.

Mr Ahern rejected the claims he was running from the issue and said a Dáil debate on the report will be held tomorrow. "I do resent the insinuation that I'm going to Butlins on my holidays. I'll be here but I won't be fronting the debate," he said.

He said the issue first appeared in 1976 and it would therefore be inappropriate to blame one particular minister for the overcharging. Down through the years, successive ministers and senior civil servants "looked at this issue and then moved away from it," Mr Ahern said.

The Tánaiste and current Minister for Health and Children Mary Harney will make a statement, as will her predecessor Mr Martin, Mr Ahern said.

The Taoiseach added that his Government was committed to resolving the issue and repaying "a considerable amount" of money to those affected and their families. "We now have to sort out what is a difficult issue, and we will do that," he added.

He acknowledged the State was facing a possible payout of €2 billion to the estimated 300,000 people who were overcharged.