End this local politics charade now, Taoiseach
JOHN HALLIGAN has spent the better part of two weeks performing a convincing, albeit infuriating, impression of the The Boy Who Cried Wolf. The Junior Minister from Waterford has threatened to leave Government over the conclusion of an independent review stating there is no need for a second cardiac catheterisation unit at University Hospital Waterford. Securing this facility was a key promise of Mr Halligan in his election campaign, and the review was one of the commitments that encouraged him to support this Government in its gossamer existence.
If it is not needed, and the existing unit instead can be enlarged, that should be sufficient. Clinicians are best placed to assess healthcare needs, and politicians are best left to look after politics. Or indeed, they would be were it not for the distraction of solo-run sideshows like Mr Halligan’s escapades. His actions highlight once again a key failing of our political system – everything is local.
This Government was barely formed before the Dáil’s summer recess, and is enjoying extended holidays due to renovation work in Leinster House. To date, it has achieved nothing and is mired in wrangling with the Independent Alliance over the decision to appeal the Apple tax penalty handed down by the European Commission, and now the row over UHW.
People like Mr Halligan, if they are honest with themselves, operate better in opposition. Dropped in the deep end of real politics, they are out of their depth. Massive decisions about national issues must be made, and soon, but instead the Government is glued in a torpor of indecision.
Enda Kenny’s role in allowing this must be noted. At a time when a strong taoiseach, aware of the consequences, would tell Mr Halligan to exercise one of two options – the second one being to get off the pot – Mr Kenny has been almost mute. It is farcical that he allows himself be held to ransom in this way, and it indicates there is more to come. We cannot tolerate this. We need leadership, and we need it now.