Tag Archives: Leo Varadkar

Health Minister Simon Harris; Lorraine Walsh, Stephen Teap and Vicky Phelan surrounded by some of the 221 cervical cancer patients affected by the CervicalCheck scandal outside Leinster House yesterday

Earlier this morning.

Morning Ireland‘s Audrey Carville asked Health Minister Simon Harris about the apology Taoiseach Leo Varadkar delivered in the Dáil yesterday to those affected by the CervicalCheck scandal.

Mr Varadkar had apologised for the “humiliation, the disrespect and deceit” caused to those affected.

Ms Carville also asked him about the forthcoming Patient Safety Bill.

From their discussion.

Audrey Carville: “What was deceitful about what took place?”

Simon Harris: “Quite frankly, I think the concealment of information from women. Deceit refers to having information and not telling people.”

Carville: “And do you believe that was deliberate?”

Harris: “You know what I’m actually not sure it was deliberate. It sounds to me more like a situation whereby they intended to disclose and then, as we all know, Dr Scally reports there was a complete and utter litany of failures in terms of closing that loop.

“But regardless of the deliberate nature or not, it was extremely hurtful and extremely painful…”

Carville: “But that’s what deceit is, isn’t it? It’s intent.”

Harris: “I think it often does involve intent. But, certainly, what the Taoiseach’s words yesterday were, were a reflection of how the women and their families felt. And they certainly felt deceived and I can fully understand why they did.”

Carville: “What do you believe was the most scandalous element of what took place?”

Harris: “I genuinely think the non-disclosure. I mean audit is a good thing, we should be auditing and checking and making our systems better and making our screening service better but the idea that you would set up an audit that intended to disclose and then not disclose, and then add insult to injury, and I don’t wish to open, you know, old wounds here. I know it’s been a very, very painful time for so many people.

“But people have been really, really hurt and certainly in my own statement yesterday to the Dáil, I made the point that, you know, partial information, having to be drip-fed into the public domain because all of the facts weren’t there added insult to injury and worried people well beyond the 221+ group. Women were looking to me and others for reassurance that quite frankly we weren’t in a position to give them. And so, for that, I’m very sorry.”

Carville: “So it all centred on the women not being told and as part of his speech to the Dáil yesterday, Leo Varadkar said there is no information about a patient that a patient shouldn’t know. And yet, in the Patient Safety Bill, for which we were told full, mandatory disclosure was going to be part of, you talked about it, almost as soon as the Vicky Phelan case was complete 18 months ago. There are going to be exceptions to that?”

Harris: “Well, I’m going to work with the Oireachtas to identify what those are. I mean there’s a very big difference, as I think everybody listening will appreciate, between mandatory disclosure of a serious reportable incident and between the day-to-day issues that can arise at a hospital.

“Like between maybe, you know, the food not being adequate and the like. That’s a very different situation to the very serious issues.”

Carville: “But is the option of not telling a patient about a mishap or an error – will there be that option in the Patient Safety Bill?”

Harris: “Absolutely not and I thank you for asking me the question because it’s important to give that assurance. I mean serious reportable events will refer to anytime, anything went wrong in relation to your care. Anytime there is information known about your well being that obviously has to be shared with you so we will bring, I will bring the full Patient Safety Bill to Cabinet next month…”

Apology ‘a reflection’ of how women felt – Harris (RTÉ)

Listen back in full here

From top: Minister for Health Simon Harris and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in the Dáil yesterday.

Earlier this morning.

Health Minister Simon Harris spoke to broadcaster Audrey Carville on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland about the Dáil voting controversy.

It follows reports in the Irish Independent this morning that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar voted for colleagues in the Dáil chamber, while the colleagues were in the chamber.

A spokesman for Mr Varadkar said he never voted for anyone who was absent from the chamber.

From the interview…

Audrey Carville: “Just finally, our political correspondent reporting this morning that the Taoiseach has confirmed he voted for colleagues who were in the Dáil chamber but who weren’t in their seats. Did you ever do that?”

Simon Harris: “You know I’ve been in the Dáil nearly nine years and voted thousands of times and I don’t recall a specific time I did it but I’m not ruling it out because the rules do allow it and I think what we’ve seen is, it has become quite commonplace. But there is a huge difference.

“There’s been a very, very successful job done to muddy the waters in recent days here. There’s a very big difference between doing that and breaching the constitution of Ireland.

“The constitution says you must be present in the Dáil chamber.

“We know Timmy Dooley wasn’t present. We know Niall Collins voted when he wasn’t present. We know Lisa Chambers voted for someone who wasn’t present.

“There has been no evidence…and this, by the way, wasn’t started by Fine Gael. This was investigative journalism by the Irish Independent that showed Fianna Fáil TDs, in my view, breaching the constitution.

“And tomorrow we’ll have the Ceann Comhairle’s report. I’ve full confidence in his ability to get to the bottom of this. We need to tighten up this thing of, you know, voting and seats, I fully agree with that.

“But that shouldn’t be allowed to distract from people, you know, heading out the M8 down to Clare while somebody else stays in the Dáil and votes six times for them. We’re legislators, you turn up, you do your job and you vote.

“And if you can’t vote, if you’re busy or you’ve something on, you certainly don’t ask your buddy to press the button for you.”

Carville: “Thank you very much, indeed, Health Minister Simon Harris in our Dáil studio.”

Varadkar admits he has voted for colleagues who were in chamber (Cormac Quinn, Irish Independent)

Meanwhile…

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin

This morning.

Via Independent.ie:

The instance where a vote was cast for Mr Martin in his absence happened during a Dáil debate on reducing the number of seats in the EU Parliament in February. Mr Martin is recorded as not being present for two of the three votes on the legislation. However, for the last and final vote the Fianna Fail leader’s vote is recorded as being present.

…for the third and final vote, Mr O’Brien is not recorded as voting in his own seat. Mr O’Brien last night admitted he may have incorrectly pressed Mr Martin’s voting button during at the end of the debate.

Vote cast for Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin when he was not in the Dáil chamber (Independent.ie)

Rollingnews

This afternoon.

“Ceann Comhairle,

“As Taoiseach, on behalf of the State, I apologise to the women and their loved ones who suffered from a litany of failures in how cervical screening in our country operated over many years.

“I do so having met and listened to many of those affected and I do so guided by the Scally Inquiry report.

“Today we say sorry to those whose lives were shattered, those whose lives were destroyed, and those whose lives could have been different.

“We know that cervical screening programmes cannot detect all cancers, however we acknowledge the many failures that have taken place.

“We are sorry for:

failures of clinical governance
failures of leadership and management
failure to tell the whole truth and do so in a timely manner
the humiliation, disrespect and deceit
the false reassurance
the attempts to play down the seriousness of this debacle

“We apologise to those who survived and still bear the scars, both physically and mentally. As do their families.

“We apologise to those who are here in our presence. To those watching from home who have kept it to themselves. We apologise to those passed on and who cannot be here.

“We acknowledge the failure that took place with CervicalCheck.

“Today’s apology is too late for some who were affected. For others it will never be enough.

“Today’s apology is offered to all the people the State let down. And to the families who paid the price for those failings.

“A broken service, broken promises, broken lives –a debacle that left a country heartbroken. A system that was doomed to fail.

“We apologise: to our wives, our daughters, our sisters, our mothers.

“To the men who lost the centre of their lives and who every day have to try and pick up the pieces.The single fathers and grandparents.

“To the children who will always have a gaping hole in their lives.

“To all those grieving for what has been taken from them.The happy days that will never be.

“A State apology may not provide closure, but I hope it will help to heal.

“I have met with some of you and your families and I have heard your stories, told to me with dignity, courage and integrity. Families turned upside down.

“The grief of losing loved ones.

“The guilt of those who survived, thinking they were the ‘lucky ones’. Those who have lost their jobs and careers, their ability to have children, their feeling of self-worth. Who feel mutilated inside, who feel they have robbed their partner out of the possibility of having a child. A future stolen from them.

“A State apology will not repair all that has been broken, nor restore all that has been lost, but we can make it count for something.

“Thanks to Dr Scally’s three reports into CervicalCheck we have discovered a lot of truths.

“We now know a lot of facts.

“Some things we will never know.

“But what we do know we can act on and make sure this doesn’t happen again.

“The Government accepted all of the recommendations that were set out in Dr. Scally’s reports and all will be implemented.

“Now, in the words of Vicky Phelan, I want something good to come out of all of this.

“Speaking as a doctor, as well as a politician, a brother and a son, I know the lessons we must learn.

“We need a better culture in our health service, one that treats patients with respect and always tells the truth. One that is never paternalistic – doctor doesn’t always know best. We must always share full information with our patients, admit mistakes, and put the person first. There is no information about a patient that the patient should not know. No patient should ever feel stonewalled by the system. We should never act or fail to act out of fear of litigation or recrimination.

“The involvement of patient advocates like Stephen Teap and Lorraine Walsh and others has shaped and enhanced our response.

“We have revised the Open Disclosure policy so that in future patients will have full knowledge about their care and treatment.They will be informed when things go wrong, met to discuss what happened, and receive a sincere apology if an error was made while caring for them. Above all, patients will be treated with compassion and empathy.

“The new Patient Safety Bill will provide for the mandatory reporting of serious reportable events and will establish a statutory duty of candour.

“Soon, we will establish a new Independent Patient Safety Council. The first task of the Council will be to undertake a detailed review of the existing policies on Open Disclosure across the whole healthcare landscape.

“As a State we aim to make cervical cancer a very rare disease in Ireland. It is almost impossible to eradicate a disease but we can get very close.

“So, we are switching to primary HPV screening, and Ireland will become one of the first countries in the world to adopt this new more accurate screening test.

“We are also extending the ever developing HPV vaccine to boys.

“We are educating and informing parents about the benefits of the vaccine.

“We are investing in better facilities in Ireland like a national cervical screening laboratory, in conjunction with the Coombe. This enhanced facility will take some time to develop but will provide a better balance between public and private provision of laboratory services to the cervical screening programme, always putting quality ahead of cost. It will bring more testing back to Ireland.

“We need to restore confidence in screening.

“We also need to listen to those who have suffered and learn from their stories so we can find justice.

“In July we established the CervicalCheck Tribunal, a statutory tribunal to deal with the issue of liability in CervicalCheck cases. It won’t be perfect but it will be quicker, with a dedicated judge and independent experts, less adversarial than court.

“Women will still have the right to go to court.

“We established an ex-gratia compensation scheme for those affected by the non-disclosure of the Cervical Check audit to provide financial compensation without the need to go to court.

“However this was never about money. This was about accountability, discovering what happened and why, providing justice and finding peace. It was about making a meaningful acknowledgement of what happened, and give an assurance that this won’t happen again to anyone else.

“We have seen further errors in some of the laboratories since the publication of the Scally Report, causing confusion and anxiety, so we have more to do to restore confidence. We are determined to do so.

“Ceann Comhairle,

“What happened to so many women and families should not have happened. While every case was not negligence, every case was a lost opportunity for an earlier diagnosis and treatment.

“It was a failure of our health service, State, its agencies, systems and culture.

“We’ve found out the truth and the facts.

“We’re making changes to put things right.

“We need to restore trust and repair relationships.

“On behalf of the Government and the State, I am sorry it happened. And I apologise to all those hurt or wronged. We vow to make sure it never happens again.”

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (top) apologises for the “’humiliation, the disrespect and deceit” shown to those affected by the CervicalCheck controversy.

Taoiseach apologises for ‘disrespect and deceit’ over CervicalCheck failures (RTÉ)

Earlier.…

Vicky Phelan

RTÉ reports:

The State is expected to offer a formal apology today for failures in the CervicalCheck service to women and families affected.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is due to address the issue in the Dáil this afternoon.

More than 1,000 women and families have been affected by the CervicalCheck crisis.

The failures first came to light in April last year, with the settlement in the Vicky Phelan High Court case.

…The author of two reports into the CervicalCheck controversy [Dr Gabriel Scally] said the issuing of a formal State apology is “a momentous step and quite unprecedented.”

Taoiseach to deliver State apology for CervicalCheck failures (RTÉ)

Central Bank of Ireland tweetz:

“The Central Bank has published the fourth Quarterly Bulletin of 2019, which outlines divergent paths for the Irish economy depending on the outcome of Brexit process.

“The Irish economy continues to grow strongly, supported by strong growth in employment and real incomes.

“The path ahead for the economy is linked to the outcome of ongoing Brexit negotiations. If a disorderly, no-deal Brexit can be avoided, it is projected that underlying economic activity will grow at a relatively solid pace in coming years.

“In a no-deal scenario, however, significant disruption and the negative shock to economic activity would adversely affect output and employment and the path ahead for the next few years would be very different.”

Meanwhile…

Economics correspondent at Virgin Media Paul Colgan tweetz:

“Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is in eBay’s Irish headquarters this morning. He hasn’t sold the backstop deal yet.”

And…

Read the Central Bank of Ireland’s quarterly bulletin in full here

This afternoon.

Thornton Manor, Wirral, Cheshire, England.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a three-hour meeting – at online sleuth Coleen Rooney’s 21st birthday party venue – where the pair emerged with the following statement:

Hmm.

Varadkar and Johnson say they can ‘see a pathway to a possible deal (RTÉ)

Inside Boris Johnson’s Brexit mansion where Coleen Rooney celebrated her 21st birthday party (Liverpool Echo)

Pics: Noel Mullen via Rollingnews

Update:

“I think all sides would like there to be an agreement next week at the council if possible, and obviously there’s a further deadline after that, the 31st of October, so I would say a short pathway rather than a long one.

“What this is about is securing an agreement that works for the people of Ireland and also the people of Britain and Europe. If it works for the people of Ireland, what it means is, avoiding a hard border between north and south.

“That’s always been our primary objective, ensuring that the all-island economy can continue to develop, and that north-south cooperation, envisaged by the Good Friday Agreement, can resume. Those are our objectives, this has always been about achieving those objectives, and I think today they can be achieved.”

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar this evening at Liverpool Airport heading back to Dublin.

Dara Doyle, of Bloomberg, tweetz:

Pensive looking Leo Varadkar this morning, at E&Y jobs launch…

Few enough words from Leo Varadkar beyond saying we are entering a potentially “rocky” period with Brexit ahead. Yes indeed.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was at E&Y’s headquarters in Dublin this morning for the firm’s announcement of 650 new jobs across Ireland.

EY to create 600 jobs over the next 12 months (The Irish Times)

Earlier: You’ve Got Mail

This morning.

In Copenhagen, Denmark.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen go for a cycle during a ‘working lunch’.

Mr Varadkar is in the middle of a two-day trip to Stockholm, Sweden and Copenhagen for talks with his Swedish and Danish counterparts.

It’s not a caption competition…unless you insist.

Pics: Jennifer Bray

UPDATE:



Um.

This morning.

Croke Park, Dublin.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at the Construction Conference sponsored by the Sunday Business Post where he spoke to delegates of the Construction Industry Federation.

Via The Irish Times:

Mr Varadkar told the conference  the Government would publish a new planning bill shortly.

He acknowledged that it was frustrating for builders and planners to see good projects end up facing sometimes “vexatious” judicial reviews in the High Court.

“That’s something, in my view, that’s going to have to change and this bill will change it,” the Taoiseach pledged.

Good times.

Varadkar promises law to block ‘vexatious’ planning challenges (Irish Times)

Sam Boal/Rollingnews

From top: The Currency; Denis O’Brien; Green Party leader Eamon Ryan; Taoiseach Leo Varadkar

This afternoon.

In the Dáil.

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan raised with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar the recent decision by Denis O’Brien-owned Communicorp – which owns Today FM, Newstalk, Dublin’s 98FM and Spin 1038 – to ban all The Currency staff, journalists, and contributors from appearing on the company’s radio stations.

It follows the implementation of similar ban against Irish Times‘ journalists in 2017.

He said:

“It seems to me that there’s a lacuna on our law. The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland seems unwilling to take action against Communicorp which recently made a decision that certain members of the media, Tom Lyons and Ian Kehoe, from currency.ie [sic, thecurrency.news] will be restricted from taking part in radio programmes on their stations.

“It’s similar to the decision taken two years ago in response to an article Fintan O’Toole wrote which saw The Irish Times’ journalists banned from the stations.

“The recent case they say it because of commercial rivalry.

“I sense, I’ve talked to every grouping here today, is that every party is in agreement that that’s an egregious or has a poor effect on our democracy. We need a free press which is open to debate and allows different voices to be heard.

“And whether it’s for commercial reasons or whether it’s an editorial view of a certain owner – that they mightn’t like what is written in a paper – to ban journalists from radio stations is not what we want.

“To avoid the legislation, could I ask you maybe to join the other leaders and groups of every grouping in this House, to write a letter to Communicorp asking them to reverse the decision in both cases and to stand up for press freedom.

“I’d be keen to hear your views on that so I’d be happy to join the deputy in that.

In response, Mr Varadkar said:

“My sentiments are the same as his [Eamon Ryan’s] on this matter. I believe in free speech and I believe in a free press and I don’t believe anyone should be banned from the airwaves – journalist or citizen – unless it’s for a very good reason.

“And those reasons should be somebody inciting hatred but I don’t think that anyone should be banned from the radio, from TV, or from any publication, solely based on who their employer is.”

The Currency was launched last week by former Sunday Business Post editor Ian Kehoe and business editor Tom Lyons.

Hours after the website went live, Communicorp producers were informed of the ban.

Earlier this year, Mr O’Brien lost a defamation action he took against the Sunday Business Post over articles published in March 2015 about a Government-commissioned but unpublished PricewaterhouseCoopers report into Ireland’s top 22 borrowers.

The newspaper reported that PwC recorded Mr O’Brien as No.10 on the list.

In November 2008, after receiving the PwC report, the then Taoiseach Brian Cowen told the Dáil that Ireland was right to guarantee the banks in September 2008.

He also told the Dáil that there was enough money in Ireland’s banks for the next three years.

Mr O’Brien claimed the articles concerning him in the Sunday Business Post were defamatory of him but the jury found this was not the case.

Previously: Converted

Closing Arguments