Harris ‘out of his depth’ says Fianna Fail
TDs target Harris’s youth and inexperience
FIANNA Fail is ramping up pressure on Health Minister Simon Harris by personally targeting his age and “lack of life experience” as the National Children’s Hospital controversy escalates.
However, Fianna Fail will not force Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to sack Mr Harris as they believe they can inflict more damage on the Government while the minister is still at Cabinet.
“Politically speaking, a slow, painful death is better than a quick one,” a frontbench Fianna Fail TD said.
Meanwhile, Fianna Fail’s housing spokesman Darragh O’Brien said there was a serious issue around the 32-yearold minister’s “political and life experience” as he battles to get on top of the latest scandal to besiege the Department of Health.
Mr O’Brien (44) said Mr Harris was “clearly overwhelmed” by the work of his department.
“The ineptitude, be it just sheer bad oversight and poor management, is because there is just no authority there, and you would have to ask, do the department just not see the minister as an authoritative figure?” Mr O’Brien told he Sunday Independent.
Fianna Fail education spokesperson Thomas Byrne (41) said Mr Harris and other senior Fine Gael Cabinet ministers have “very little experience outside of politics”.
“I’ve no problem with young people in politics but I think people are better in politics when they come to it with outside experience whether the experience is in business, farming or even being unemployed,” he said.
Mr Harris told the Sunday Independent Fianna Fail’s attack on his age and experience “doesn’t merit any comment”.
However, there are also growing concerns within Fine Gael over the minister’s handling of the Children’s Hospital controversy and the CervicalCheck scandal.
Yesterday, one Fine Gael minister said the “job was above” Mr Harris.
“The CervicalCheck was a complete disaster, the Children’s Hospital is a complete disaster,” the minister said.
“He’s not a good Minister for Health, and in truth he wasn’t ready for a Cabinet portfolio of that level when he was put into it,” the minister added.
Another minister said Mr Harris would “only just” survive the political fallout over his management of the health service.
It is understood Minister Harris will address the Dail this week and respond to criticism regarding a response given to Fianna Fail TD Barry Cowen in a parliamentary question that related to the cost of the National Children’s Hospital. Mr Harris will tell the Dail he should have noted that a review of costs was underway when he responded to the question.
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe is also expected to come under renewed pressure over his response to the €450m overrun in the Children’s Hospital project.
Mr Donohoe told the Finance Committee he was first alerted to the overrun by Mr Harris on November 9 last year. However, internal Department of Public Expenditure and Reform emails show his senior officials were not aware of the €450m overrun until 11 days later, on November 20.
A Department of Public Expenditure and Reform assistant secretary criticised his counterpart in the Department of Health for the timing of the disclosure and the lack of information provided.