Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for taking this debate. I have huge sympathy for the Bill. For the past fortnight I have been speaking about political responsibility overshadowing those who took decisions that led to events such as the cervical cancer screening disaster, the hepatitis C scandal and various others in the past 25 to 30 years, with which we are familiar. There has been a doctrine since the 1940s, the Carltona principle whereby Civil Service officials speak with the voice of the Minister in charge of a Department, regardless of whether the Minister knows it. Most Members do not know that when they take ministerial office, they will not be informed of this. Officials take decisions. Some of the decisions taken in recent years were to try to cover up mistakes that had proved life threatening and cost people their lives. Time and again, we have heard calls for a Minister's head to be put on the chopping block. Why? When we have the Minister's head, they are gone and whoever made the decision to cover up is still there and carrying on in exactly the same way. That is the problem. I have spent 25 years of my life defending workers' rights and will stand four-square behind any worker who is trying to do a decent day's work for a decent day's pay, but for a person to knowingly cover up something, that is behaviour I cannot understand.

The fear expressed about the Corporate Manslaughter Bill 2016 is that it will kill off voluntarism. Like most young peopIe, I was in the Irish Red Cross and various other voluntary institutions when I was 12 or 13 years of age. I do not think the Bill sets out to catch some volunteer who rushes to the aid of a citizen. I appreciate that there might be a problem which should be ironed out as the legislation passes through the Oireachtas, but what we are looking at is the role of senior managers. Today there are calls for the head of Mr. Tony O'Brien, but will that get to the individual who covered up the scandal? Mr. O'Brien cannot have his finger on every pulse, although I do believe he should go. I have great sympathy for those in political life who carry the can for "Yes, Minister" officials who keep serious issues hidden from the public. For that reason and that reason only, there should be capacity to identify an individual.When the individual is identified, that individual should be charged and there should be retribution. The public should be able to see that one cannot hide serious issues from them. One simply cannot do that. One has to be able to come forward as soon as something is recognised. If one does not come forward, that is no different from taking a knife and sticking it into the chest of a person who then dies. If someone is aware of something which will kill people and keeps it quiet, then he or she may as well be a murderer. That is my view for what it is worth.

We need to take our heads out of the sand. Corporate responsibility should go the whole way down the line. If something emerges it should be brought to the attention of senior management immediately and finish up on the desk of the Minister before it finishes up on the desk of the State Claims Agency which takes an extremely aggressive approach to everything that is ever brought in front of it.

I have sympathy the with the Bill and would love to hear what the Minister's Department would like to do to make it workable. I would like to be able to try to support that.