This article is from page 4 of the 2012-02-21 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
CLARE TD Michael McNamara (LAB) has denied that the outburst that earned him a suspension from the Dáil was a publicity stunt but was instead an attempt to get answers for the people of Clare.
The East Clare Deputy was expelled from the Dáil last Thursday and will now lose three days of wages for refusing to sit down when asked by the Ceann Comhairle. The dispute arose when Deputy McNamara was unable to get details on the effect that the cuts in the health budget will have in the mid-west from Minister for Health, James O’Reilly (FG).
This is the third time in recent weeks that Deputy McNamara has been critical of his coalition partners, having openly criticised both Jimmy Deenihan (FG) and Phil Hogan (FG) concerning Blake’s Corner in Ennistymon.
“I was told by the minister [O’Reilly] that the information I asked for was not readily available from HSE West. I was very surprised at that as I have been told by people in HSE West – by managers and unions that work in the area – that that information is readily available,” said Deputy McNamara.
“I don’t think that the minister is not providing the information But I would be very concerned if the minister is being told by the HSE that certain information is not available when in fact it is. There is a disconnect there that I am very worried about. It wasn‘t a publicity stunt. There was no vote that I wanted to get out of. This was a matter of accountability. We were elected on a promise of in- creased accountability and I believe that I need to take a stand on that. I think that if any TD asks a question about any state agency, they should be given that information. That is the only way that we will be able to hold them to account.”
Despite a number of public spats between Labour backbenchers and Fine Gael ministers, Deputy McNamara claims that relations are still good between the coalition parties.
Deputy McNamara is due to restart his full duties in the Dáil this Wednesday.