It is in the public interest that the Deloitte & Touche report into the finances of Tallaght Hospital be published, as many media reports in the past 24 hours have grossly overestimated the extent of the hospital's expenditure overrun and have misrepresented the likely contents of the report. It is absolutely appalling that the Minister for Health and Children engaged in an unprecedented breach of faith with the board and management of Tallaght Hospital. He met the board yesterday and handed the report to them. I understand that both sides agreed that no public comment would be made on the substance of the report pending a further meeting that would address working out the various issues related to the hospital.
In an unprecedented and extraordinary breach of faith, the Minister issued a statement yesterday which stated that the "Deloitte & Touche report indicates serious governance and general management problems at the hospital." The Minister's strategy with this statement was to point the finger at the hospital board as being solely responsible and to target them as being to blame. Because of the Minister's behaviour it is now essential that the report be put in a public forum and be made generally available. The Minister has behaved in this manner to cover up what may be anticipated as criticisms of him and his Department in the report. I challenge him to either confirm or deny that the report describes the allocation of funding by his Department to Tallaght Hospital as inappropriate, that it describes the methodology used to assess what funds were required as inappropriate and that it makes quite clear that when funding a new acute hospital, different principles should apply from those which apply on a year on year basis to existing hospitals in existing population areas.
It is likely this report not merely voices some criticism of the management structures of Tallaght Hospital, but that it makes quite clear that in so far as there are financial shortfalls, the original financial allocation made by the Minister for the hospital was based on principles that were not appropriate and that, as a consequence, the hospital has run up a substantial overdraft.
In the context of the breach of faith shown by the Minister and the critical comment in the statement he made, which was designed to pillory the management board of the hospital, he undermined public confidence so much that he should consider his position as Minister. He has created extraordinary problems for this and other boards having confidential discussions with him. His statement is not only damaging to the board of Tallaght Hospital; it is likely to undermine public confidence in the hospital itself. I feel the Minister accepts it has operated well, as is acknowledged in the report according to other statements that have been issued.
Tallaght Hospital is the only major acute hospital in the State with a Protestant ethos. The Minister has been addressing issues related to the hospital with the sensitivity of a herd of stampeding rhinoceroses. The manner in which he deals with the hospital will be seen as a litmus test of the Government's commitment to a new Ireland by many groups on all parts of the island. The Minister seems fixated by media control. Too many reports dealing with health issues, including this one, are caught in the public relations stranglehold of the Department. The Minister needs to be reminded that this is a parliamentary democracy, and Members of the House are entitled to see reports such as this, which have been prepared at public expense. The media are entitled to access to such reports. By issuing a selective statement which misleads and does not set out the position clearly, the Minister is undermining the freedom of the press to report in an informed way on important health issues. If he has nothing to hide he should publish the report, and if he intends to remain Minister for Health and Children he should publish a public apology to the board of Tallaght Hospital for his breach of faith in making critical public comments in circumstances in which it was agreed that no substantive public comment would be made on the contents of the report. The Minister should publish the report and let the public judge how the difficulties in Tallaght should be addressed and how the difficulties created by his Department should be addressed to ensure that a new hospital does not experience similar difficulties in future.
