Ahern rejects demands for O'Malley to quit

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern rejected Opposition calls for the resignation of Minister of State for Health Tim O'Malley following his controversial remarks on RTÉ television about the psychiatric services.

He said Mr O'Malley was doing his job to the best of his ability and effort. "If you are going to jump over what he said in an interview, as against what he has been doing for the last number of years, I think that is totally unfair, quite frankly." Mr Ahern said he had not seen the programme but had received a full report on it.

The Taoiseach was replying to Labour leader Pat Rabbitte who asked if he felt ashamed about what the programme had revealed. "How could you watch parents, at the end of their tether, trying to deal with children with chronic disorder?" Then, said Mr Rabbitte, there was the image of Mr O'Malley, "smugly proclaiming that the psychiatric profession was responsible, despicably passing the buck from himself".

Mr Rabbitte added: "Have you ever seen a more gauche, unfortunate declaration of ignorance by a Minister responsible for any aspect of Government policy?" He said that mental health services would not be improved with "a man who clearly has no empathy with the plight of families in this country who are left waiting for psychological assessment". He added that he was not talking about Mr O'Malley personally. The issue was his political ability to do a job and to understand the area for which he was responsible.

"Will you say, for once in your life, that there will be some accountability in your Government when you have a Minister who is manifestly incapable of doing his job?"

Earlier, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny asked if Tánaiste Michael McDowell had spoken to him before Mr O'Malley made his "callous and heartless outburst". Mr O'Malley had said that "the waiting lists should be queried, and, worse still, psychiatrists deliberately keep waiting lists long so that they can exert their power and influence". Mr Kenny added: "What kind of Minister of State have you got in charge of psychiatric illness and mental illness?"

He asked the Taoiseach if he had confidence in Mr O'Malley. "Do you think that a Minister of State, making comments like that about those with mental and psychiatric illness deserves to be in office? Do you intend to look for his dismissal? Do you intend to speak to the Tánaiste about this matter this evening? In my view you should have no further confidence in Mr O'Malley."

Mr Ahern said that they were trying to improve the mental health service rather than "trying to personalise against individuals who are doing their job".

The mental health tribunal and inspections were up and running. "We have trebled the resources going into mental health." The Taoiseach said great strides had been made over the past 20 years in the mental health area.