Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael)

The Minister should note that we responded to Mr. Travers. We said we had nothing to add other than what is already in the public domain. If that was not acceptable to Mr. Travers and put into the submission, it had nothing to do with our views on this issue.

What does the Minister believe a briefing entails, making specific reference to the briefing notes he was due to have received the day before the meeting in December 2003 and the briefing he received on the day and the day thereafter? Although the Minister stated he received a briefing, he is not crystal clear about what he knew about these charges.

How did the Minister feel about the charges? Did he regard them as a matter of concern? What does he believe to be the meaning of political accountability? I asked the Tánaiste the latter question and she did not answer very clearly. She stated there was systemic maladministration in the Department and that maladministration was due to the administrative culture in the Department, which is very much related to the political head of the Department. What is the view of the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment on this?

I asked the Minister about the role of his advisers when he was Minister for Health and Children and whether they acted as a buffer between himself and civil servants. What is his view on this?

The health boards submitted legal advice to the Minister stating the charges were illegal but they continued charging a number of patients. However, payments were stopped in respect of patients who challenged the charges. Has the Minister legal advice on the position of some of the officials in the health boards? There are potential criminal charges involved if the officials continued to charge patients in the knowledge that the charges were illegal.

The Travers report states the memorandum prepared for the Government was parked in both 2002 and 2003 pending legislation to tie up all the eligibility criteria. How much did the Minister know about this at the time? This was the time of the over-70s legislation and the health strategy, with which he was very closely associated. This strategy led to the establishment of the HSE, with which Mr. Kelly was very closely associated. Mr. Kelly and senior officials in the Department felt the strategy represented the way forward for the Department for many years. They knew of all the administrative problems that were occurring. However, it just took so long to have them sorted out that we have ended up in the mess in which we now find ourselves.

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