Ring loses his temper with Simon Harris over Mayo’s hospice delays
Minister’s threat to raise matter with Taoiseach if emails weren’t responded to
MINISTER for Rural and Community Affairs Michael Ring lost his temper with Simon Harris and threatened to speak about him to the Taoiseach, correspondence seen by the Irish Mail on Sunday reveal.
The Mayo TD wrote to the Health Minister four times without reply about funding for a new hospice in his constituency, before sending him an email in August which read: ‘I am extremely disappointed… with you. I have emailed you and texted you on several occasions but a response is still not forthcoming.
‘As a colleague of yours, I would have expected the courtesy of a full reply. I will speak to Leo at Cabinet about this next week.’
The threat appears to have spurred Mr Harris into action, and he replied the following day.
‘Thank you for your correspondence regarding Mayo Roscommon Hospice,’ Mr Harris wrote. ‘Please accept my apologies for the delay in replying.
‘As you are aware, the HSE’s service plan for 2019 includes a commitment to open the specialist palliative care inpatient unit in Castlebar. The HSE advises that €300,000 will be made available to enable the new hospice to open towards the end of the year.’
However, the hospice still remains closed for patients despite it being officially opened by Minister Harris in October. A spokesperson said funding is now in place and patients would be accepted in the first half of next year.
Minister Ring first wrote to Mr Harris on July 10 with a polite request for confirmation of funding from the National Palliative Care Office.
When no reply was forthcoming, he wrote again nine days later.
‘I write again in relation to Mayo Roscommon Hospice,’ he wrote. ‘As previously advised, they are waiting for confirmation of funding from the NPCA in relation to funding which would enable them to open this tremendous facility.
‘It is their hope this facility would be up and running in October (2019). Simon, I would appreciate if you would follow this up for me. I look forward to hearing from you and thank you for your assistance.’
Eight days later Minister Ring wrote a more pointed email, before firing off another on August 16.
‘Dear Simon, this facility is waiting for confirmation from the
NCPO. This is very important. I am anxious to see if this funding could be urgently provided.
‘Simon, I would appreciate if you could follow this up for me.’
Again there was no reply. A source who fundraised for the Mayo Roscommon Hospice said that the tone of the ministers’ correspondence should not reflect on the ‘positive and generous spirit that allowed the hospice to be built in the first place. We don’t want any negative publicity around the hospice because it’s been a tremendous success from the start.’ The source added: ‘We’re just looking forward to getting it open now. Arguing politicians are nothing to do with us.’
Following Minister Harris’s eventual reply Minister Ring wrote another more conciliatory letter to him in September.
‘Dear Simon, ...I enclose an email which I have this morning received from [chief executive] Mary Nash. As you can see she has refused to start recruiting for the hospice in Castlebar until they receive written confirmation of the ongoing funding... Simon is it possible to get a response? I look forward to hearing from you and thank you for your assistance.’
The HSE also raised the delay in funding with an email to Minister Harris‘s department about an invitation to the opening of the facility.
Three days before Mr Harris replied to Minister Ring, an official in the HSE sent an email to an official in the Department of Health, requesting the official opening of the new facility be pushed back from a date in October due to the financial situation.
The email read: ‘...Could you possibly liaise with the minister’s office to suggest that due to the financial situation the later the date for this the better?’ The opening took place later that month although the facility will not accept patients until next year.
This weekend, a spokesperson for the Mayo Hospice said that the facility would not have been possible without the support of Minister Harris and Minister Ring.
Asked about the correspondence, Mr Ring’s special adviser said he would make no comment. Mr Harris’s office also failed to respond to repeated requests for comment.
‘I will speak to Leo at Cabinet next week’
‘Arguing politicians are nothing to do with us’