Even Trump eclipsed as Dáil turns attention to our own woes

Our own domestic woes eclipsed Donal Trump in the Dáil yesterday.

The House was scheduled to debate the man who shapes our waking hours with his tweets, but the crisis in the health services took precedence.

There were no “alternative facts’’ or “fake news’’ during the debate which featured stories of sick and suffering people languishing on hospital waiting lists.

It was prompted by Monday night's RTÉ television documentary Living On the List, which revealed the full scale of the crisis.

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Opening the debate, Minister for Health Simon Harris recalled his immediate emotional response to the documentary.

“I was genuine and truthful about my feelings on watching the programme,’’ he said. “I will not defend the indefensible or excuse the inexcusable.’’

He said offering his honest response should not, however, be portrayed as the only response he had offered.

In a clear reference to the HSE, he called for better management.

Fianna Fáil’s Billy Kelleher agreed HSE management should be held to account.

Ashen-faced

And then he turned the focus on the ashen-faced young Minister.

“The Minister is a bit like a nasty jockey on a very tired horse who is trying to get him up to the line and using the whip too much,’’ said Kelleher.

The bottom line, he said, was the HSE simply did not have adequate resources in certain areas to deal with waiting lists.

Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald recalled those still in the Oireachtas who had held the health portfolio, which was once memorably described by former taoiseach Brian Cowen as “Angola’’.

Although McDonald accused them of overseeing the unfolding health “scandal’’, the department, while feared by politicians, did not emerge as a graveyard of political ambition.

There was Micheál Martin, now FF leader; Brendan Howlin, Labour leader; Leo Varadkar, Minister and current frontrunner to be next FG leader; Michael Noonan, Minister for Finance; and Dr James Reilly, now in the Seanad, a soft landing after losing his Dáil seat.

Harris, a rising star in Fine Gael, must have been pleased with the history lesson, although he remained pale and impassive.

Then it was on to discuss the terms of reference of the commission of investigation into allegations that Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan attempted to smear whistleblower Sgt Maurice McCabe.

Hand grenade

Wexford Fine Gael backbencher Michael D’Arcy threw a political hand grenade into the proceedings when he said he did not believe the commissioner’s version of events.

“I don’t believe her because of her actions and how she instructed her legal counsel to deal with the O’Neill investigation,’’ he added.

He called on the commissioner to step aside, adding he had information that up to 10 journalists were briefed with negative stories about McCabe.

Tánaiste and Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald backed the commissioner but said any wrongdoing uncovered about anybody would have serious consequences.

Grim stuff.

There was other routine business to process before TDs headed for their constituencies, checking Twitter no doubt for the latest message from the leader of the free world.

When the Dáil finally gets to debate Trump, it could amount to light relief compared to yesterday’s discourse on our own travails.