asked the Minister for Local Government and Public Health if his attention has been directed to complaints regarding the serious deterioration in the quality of the food served in sanatoria during the past five years; and, if so, if he will state whether he has caused any inquiries to be made to ascertain if there is any justification for such complaints; and if he will make a statement in the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Sanatorium Food Supplies.
So far as I am aware there are no good grounds for complaint regarding the quality or quantity of food supplied in sanatoria, and I shall willingly investigate any specific complaint that may be brought to my notice. I may say that a dietary scale has been approved by my Department applicable to sanatoria which is considered to be adequate for the needs of patients. The diet approved includes three pints of milk per day, 14 ounces of butter per week, and seven eggs per week. Where local authorities have experienced any difficulty in obtaining adequate foods of this nature for patients it has been my practice to take the matter up with the Minister for Supplies with a view to ensuring these supplies for persons undergoing treatment.
I would inform the Deputy that my attention was directed to a letter in the Irish Times of the 12th instant under the caption “T.B.” and signed “Honest Sufferer” which contained charges attributing the main cause of the increase in the tuberculosis death rate to the diabolical deterioration of the food served in sanatoria during the past five years. On the date of publication of that letter I wrote to the Irish Times asking for the name of the sanatorium to which the anonymouse letter related. On the following day a reply was received that it is an unvariable rule of the newspapers to respect the anonymity of correspondents who desire to remain anonymous. On the same day I again requested the Irish Times to give the name of the sanatorium. I pointed out that I attached the greatest importance to the maintenance of a high standard of care and attention to patients in sanatoria and for that reason I desired that the conditions in the sanatorium in respect of which charges were made should be closely investigated and that in the case of a sanatorium under the control of a local authority the charges made in the letter, if proved, would involve gross maladministration by the responsible officials of that authority.
On February 14th I received a further communication from the Irish Times stating that the correspondent, “Honest Sufferer”, asked specifically that the name of the institution should not be mentioned, on the ground that he would be identified thereby. It was further stated that the Irish Times would be glad to help, but the disclosure would amount to a grave breach of journalistic etiquette.
On the 17th February I addressed a further letter to the Irish Times. I again pointed out that the charges in the anonymous letter published on the 12th instant affected adversely the administration of the Tuberculosis Acts by local authorities and that a public investigation of the charges was in my opinion a matter of public importance. I further expressed the view that the decision not to supply the name of the sanatorium is so opposed to the public interest that it could not now be justified by a plea of journalistic etiquette; that in this matter there was a great deal more at issue than journalistic etiquette; that the publication of charges concerning the standard of maintenance and treatment in sanatoria has more than a passing effect unless it can be shown either that the charges are false or if they are found to be correct that the position can be fully remedied; that for friends and relatives of those receiving institutional treatment the publication of such charges must be a cause of grave anxiety and that for those affected with tuberculosis who require institutional care their publication may be the cause of deterring them from entering an institution.
On the 24th instant the Irish Times replied repeating that the Editor of a newspaper in no circumstances can disclose the identity of a correspondent who may wish to remain anonymous, and that the correspondent “Honest Sufferer”, whose bona fides does not come into question, desired the whereabout of the sanatorium to be withheld and that the Editor had no option in the matter.
The Deputy will appreciate that so long as the persons responsible for the publication of such allegations as are referred to in his question can refuse to facilitate investigation I am denied the opportunity of establishing the truth or falsity of the charges.