Travers report due shortly, says Ahern

The report into the controversy over illegal nursing home charges may be published before the byelections, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has told the Dáil.

The Government was committed to publishing the report by John Travers but could not confirm when. "I do not know exactly. It is due in shortly," Mr Ahern said.

"Obviously the Government will have to consider it, but we are committed to publishing it," he said.

Mr Ahern was replying to Labour leader Pat Rabbitte, who described the controversy as the "biggest debacle in the history of public administration in Ireland".

Mr Rabbitte had demanded to know if the report would be made public "on receipt or kept under cover until after the byelections" in Meath and Kildare North on Friday week.

He asked if the Taoiseach still had confidence in the former minister for health, Micheál Martin, who "blithely sails through it all as if it had nothing to do with him and he carried no responsibility".

The controversy over the illegal deduction of payments for care from the pensions of public nursing home residents dates back to a Supreme Court judgment in 1976.

Mr Rabbitte said Mr Martin "had to know" about the issue in 2003 after a meeting of senior departmental officials, the minister, his two ministers of State and health board chief executives, when one health board got legal advice that the deductions were illegal.

Mr Martin had said he was not there for part of the meeting "but he had two ministers there, one of whom was a minister for older people. If a minister for older people did not know about this, what did the minister for older people know", Mr Rabbitte asked.

Mr Ahern said, however, that if the issue had been dealt with before the 1977 election, "we would not be here now".

"What was clear in 2003 was very clear in 1976," the Taoiseach added.

When the Opposition jeered him and TDs shouted "rubbish" and "absolutely pathetic", Mr Ahern replied angrily that "it would be nice to say that everyone knew everything a year ago. It was as clear at the time of the [ Supreme Court] judgment in 1976 as it was after the latest legal advice. That is the position."

Mr Rabbitte referred to the decision taken at that meeting to write to the Attorney General to seek legal advice. He asked why the letter was not sent and if the Taoiseach had confidence in Mr Martin following this "systemic maladministration and political incompetence".

The Taoiseach said everyone should wait until the report was published and he had confidence in Mr Martin.

When Mr Rabbitte said Mr Ahern had not yet seen the Travers report, the Taoiseach replied that "the deputy asked me if I have confidence in him now. I hope I will also have confidence in him when the Travers report appears." He did not believe that Mr Martin was responsible for stopping the letter being sent, but he would wait for the report.