Martin rejects demands to quit over care charges

Former Minister for Health Micheál Martin has told the Dáil the Travers report has exonerated him of all blame and has dismissed Opposition calls for him to resign.

Mr Martin insisted today he had no knowledge of the practice of illegally charging of pensioners care in public nursing homes until late last year. "Had I been aware that an illegal charge was in place, I would have dealt with it," he told a Dáil debate this afternoon.

The report by former Forfás head John Travers cites failures by the Department of Health at the highest levels since 1976 to take action, despite legal concerns about the practice. There was "long-term systemic corporate failure" by the Department, it found.

Although the report found there was no evidence to indicate that Mr Martin or other ministers over the years were "fully briefed" on the difficulties around nursing home charges, it did say there were political "shortcomings" by successive Governments in their handling of the issue.

"There were undoubtedly . . . some lapses of judgment on the part of ministers over the years."

Mr Martin, who is now Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, after being replaced at the Department of Health by Tánaiste Mary Harney last year, insisted in the Dáil this afternoon that the report cleared him of any wrong-doing.

"In relation to the extension of Medical Card cover to the over-70s through the Health Amendment Act 2001, the report shows that no submission was made to me that existing charges were illegal and that they should be regularised through the legislation," Mr Martin said.

"The report also lays to rest the idea that I or my predecessors were briefed in any substantive way on the illegal charges and issue of retrospection. It states that irrespective of whether or not it is accepted that the issue was mentioned, any briefings, which may have happened, were 'at the most superficial of levels' and 'inadequate to what was required'."

Mr Martin accused the Opposition of ignoring the facts of the Travers report because they do not suit the "spin" they have been putting on issues for months.

Secretary General of the Department of Health and Children Michael Kelly was removed from his post yesterday in the wake of the report.

Ms Harney rejected Opposition calls for Mr Martin to step down. "Any fairminded person who reads this report could not, on the basis of this report, be calling on people to resign," she said. She repeated her claim yesterday that if she felt any Fianna Fáil minister was guilty of misconduct, she would remove the Progressive Democrats from Government.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny accused Mr Martin of ignoring his political responsibilities within the Department. "The time has come for the Taoiseach to take the decision for Minister Martin and remove him from office," he added.

Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte accused Mr Martin of being accountable for leaving the taxpayer with a €2 billion bill to repay the 300,000 people affected by the illegal charges. "If Minister Martin knew the implications he should resign because he is in dereliction of duty; if he didn't know, given any fair reading of Travers, he should resign because he is incompetent," the Labour leader said.

He added that the former junior health ministers, Ivor Callely and Tim O'Malley, were "without defence or excuse and must go".

The Green Party's John Gormley accused Ms Harney of failing to stand up to her larger Government partner. "We have a one-party Government, you are indistinguishable from Fianna Fáil. There is no political responsibility."

Sinn Féin leader Caoimhghin Ó Caoláin accused the Government of trying to shift responsibility onto civil servants. "While senior civil servants clearly cannot be exonerated, it is beyond question that the primary responsibility rests with Ministers who are supposed to be accountable to the Dáil and to the people," he said.