Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I do not know what the Deputy means by my "actions to date". I will park that for a moment. In the first instance, she raised an issue in respect of an individual she identified, Mr. Shane Corr. It is not appropriate for me to discuss human resource issues regarding individuals. There are many aspects to that entire situation that merit an objective assessment. I will say no more than that on what appears to have transpired there, which some will have some misgivings about. I am talking about others who participated in meetings and were speaking freely, perhaps not realising that what they were saying was either being recorded or distributed. That is an issue that needs to be resolved and dealt with within the HR structures of the Department of Health. I will say no more than that, at this stage.

I have made my position very clear in respect of the Wexford county manager and the SIPO judgment and conclusion on that. I have also made it very clear that no county manager and no local authority should ever attempt to leverage any advertisements in any local station or any newsprint media, with a view to editorial control or to somehow influence the content of any programme or news programme, or in any way attempt to interfere in the editorial independence of a news outlet. That is not right. It is wrong and I have said that repeatedly. I stand by that.

There are various mechanisms and structures. We are not the local authority. We are the Dáil. The local authority has mechanisms available to it, if it so wishes, to deal with any issues that relate to a manager or whatever. That is a matter for the authority and it has to look at it in the round and make its judgments. That is why we have local authorities. Very often, Deputies in this House criticise the lack of independence and autonomy for local authorities but, when an issue arises in a local authority, they say the Minister or Taoiseach of the day must intervene straight away. We have democratically locally elected authorities and they need to get on with it.

I do not know why the Deputy is personalising it by mentioning the cathaoirleach, Councillor Barbara-Anne Murphy, because a cross-party approach seems to have been adopted on this matter. It was not any one particular party or individual. I happen to know the cathaoirleach and, down through the years, I have found her to be a very decent person and a person of integrity. I do not think it is fair that the Deputy would come to the Chamber and personalise it to the degree she has.

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