Government's secret plan to block repayment of illegal nursing home charges

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120219803#Comment_120219803

I had to pay privately for an awful lot of medical care because the care I wanted wasn't available in the timeframe I wanted. Should I be compensated too?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120219380#Comment_120219380

Ambulance chasing lawyers is his new phrase for all injustices that require redress. No details of course. Just deflection and zero empathy.

Shock horror, opposition party leaders disagree with decision of Government based on advice taken by its legal advisor.

Sounds like a load of 'Yeah but, what about' to me, when their first punches completely failed to land.

This is over. In fact, we're the only ones still talking about it!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120219274#Comment_120219274

I'm not the only one who thinks the AG was out of order here.

https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/report-on-state-legal-strategy-conflates-cost-containment-with-public-interest-1429918.html

As I've been reading up a little on the role, it's seems the AG also has an obligation to the Irish public, not just to act in the role of corporate lawyer to the government of the day.

In this case the public wants a qualified legal opinion on who has an entitlement to refund, and who doesn't.

Not the AG's opinion on whether it was correct policy or "strategy".

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120218988#Comment_120218988

Many of the people who wrongly had their disability payments taken are still alive.

Many of those descendants will be people whose parents qualified for public nursing homes but had to pay privately because none were available.

I'm sure plenty made hard sacrifices to have their parents cared for, and often with young families at the time.

Before anyone suggests otherwise I would in no way qualify for either refund. I just think it's disgusting they've been denied that money all this time.

While successive FFG governments have been lining the pockets of their cronies.

TipsyMcStagge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120218988#Comment_120218988

Ambulance chasing lawyers like FG TD Colm Burke?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120217938#Comment_120217938

Eh, yes, it is an independent office with a significant amount of credibility.

The problem on this occasion is that it didn't say what you wanted to hear. The public have been led down a silly path by scurrilous journalists funded by a malcontent and informed by ambulance-chasing lawyers. It was smooth stuff from them, but the AG pretty much laid it out in clear language that they didn't have a clue.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120217938#Comment_120217938

The AG has as much credibility as any other senior lawyer.

The option to go to court remains for anyone who feels the law has been broken.

That seemingly no one has for the 20 odd years that this has been rumbling on, even on a no foal no fee basis, suggests that the various governments position over the years is legally sound.

The memo seems callous but it isn't the revelation it is made out to be.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120216937#Comment_120216937

Redress = compensation, usually following on from litigation.

You are contradicting yourself within the same post. The people who were charged for nursing homes are all dead, who are you redressing other than ambulance-chasing lawyers and descendants?

What has changed is that neither practice is current here, unlike other jurisdictions.

I didn't know much about the role of the AG until this tbh.

I had thought it was more like an independent office with some credibility.

At least in this case, the guys acting more like one of those sleazy American celebrity lawyers. Out hitting the late night talk shows to drum up a PR boost for their dodgy client.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120216984#Comment_120216984

The Attorney General is, very broadly, the government's legal advisor.

Other teams reporting to the AG draft legislation.

It is a political appointment, not an independent one. Most go on to become judges, some into politics, a few to Europe.

I would have been very surprised if he came out and said 'you know what, the last 4 or 5 AGs and governments were wrong'. He might have but it was unlikely.

72sheep

The findings are such that even the IT published an opinion piece wondering about the "bizarre" approach taken by the AG. No wonder Varadkar was today in the Dail encouraging people to read the full report cover to cover. Remember these are the people that brought an "abundance of care" to the "trusting" Irish public during Covid, LOL!!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rossa_Fanning

I've been very busy with work these past few days and haven't been able to comment much on this.

My expectation was that Ffg would try to spin the AG's comments to look at this as legal strategy rather than a policy issue.

While no expert on the role of an AG, I was quite shocked to see Rossa Fanning do that for them. Would it not be part of the role to be politically impartial?

Who is this guy to be saying refusing refunds to the elderly and disabled is a reasonable and rationale policy? Is he an authority on public policy or the plight of the disabled?

I suppose I shouldn't expect much more from someone whose made a living defending the likes of Lowery, Facebook and peadophile priests.

https://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0418/782696-abuse/

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120216561#Comment_120216561

I don't think anyone here wants to see wasteful practices or litigious tendancies, but many of us would believe those people with a fair and genuine entitlement should be refunded. A proper redress scheme would have negated any ambulance chasing efforts, not opened the door to them on the sneak like this did.

I appreciate your desire to protect the state from narrow interests, but I think if you give it some consideration you'll see taking care of the disabled and elderly is very much in the wider public interest.

Unless struck by tragedy we will all grow old. Also very many of us will be affected by disability, either ourselves or a family member.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120213240#Comment_120213240

An ignorant comment, but not unexpected.

I have plenty of compassion for my fellow citizens, I think we need to do lots more to reduce the tax burden, on making work pay and on going hard after the formation of a single tier, patient centric health service, free at the point of entry. I want to take on the interests and lobbies that have so blunted this effort for years.

I want to lower education costs at all levels, to bring in a sustainable State wide model of co-operative public housing and to expand our model of national school education all the way down to 6 months of age, to vastly reduce childcare costs and improve the choices for working parents and to eliminate reliance on imported energy and being subject to fossil fuel market fluctuations.

But none of it is possible without rigourous and forensic management of the public finances, promoting strong economic flexibility and sustainable growth and not allowing narrow interests, of any sort, to take the exchequer for a ride, be it through cartel pricing, closed shop mentalities, wasteful practices or litigious tendencies.

My heart is in the right place. The question is, are your heads?

TipsyMcStagge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120212618#Comment_120212618

Given your penchant for condemning ambulance chasing lawyers I'm sure you will be outraged by the fact that out of 80 settlements 49 were made to clients of Fine Gael TD Colm Burke.

TipsyMcStagge

Leaky Leo out in the Dáil today saying the 5 billion figure for public nursing homes was a load of rubbish it was initially revised down to 1 billion and in the end the scheme set up by Mary Harney ended up paying out just €480 million! That rather busts the FG bot narrative of responsible ministers trying to save the state billions!

Bsharp

This outcome won't affect the grey vote as it's predominantly a self interested voting block, like all others.

At the ballot box, the choice is pay 12bn in compensation, with potential impacts on todays pension entitlements and nursing home care (think further levies, changes to fair deal), or don't pay. They'll vote in their own interest on this one.

skimpydoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120212786#Comment_120212786

The ones the MSM would not cover.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120213008#Comment_120213008

Tip the cap sure...most people are waking up though.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120212975#Comment_120212975

Oh I know

Its a curious form of blindness, similar to selective hearing, only it has much worse societal impacts

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120212786#Comment_120212786

You won't get an answer to that Q! 😂😂

Blind to corruption and cronyism sure.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120212680#Comment_120212680

Which story did the Ditch make up?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120212379#Comment_120212379

Wow you guys are very alike.

Correct Blanch, 100%.

As for scalps, if someone has done something wrong, they should be held accountable under the law or the code of ethics, in proportion with the offence.

Its the making sh1t up and trying to impugn past decisions with the same baseless rubbish that I have a problem with.

Thankfully, I do believe most Irish people know a charlatan job when they see one, particularly stuff as amateurish as we see with boring regularity from the Paddy Cosgrave orbit. Its quite pathetic.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120212379#Comment_120212379

I have been saying this for quite a while that the only ones interested in this are ambulance-chasing lawyers and descendants of those affected looking for compo.

This won't come up in an election campaign, unless some of the nuts in PBP bring it up, as all of the other parties are tainted with it, including Labour and SDs who had politicians involved in it and Sinn Fein who continue to refuse to pay disability to those in nursing homes in the North.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120212535#Comment_120212535

The Ditch, thats the crowd who keep claiming scalps and highlighting transparency issues? Those lads are doing amazing work

Damian English - resigned

https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/fine-gael-td-damien-english-28934379

Fine Gael’s Damien English has announced that he is resigning as a minister over his failure to declare ownership of a property.

It comes following a story published by online outlet The Ditch earlier this week.

Robert Troy - resigned

https://www.thejournal.ie/robert-troy-resignation-5849533-Aug2022/

A lot happened – and was revealed – over the two weeks since it first emerged he had failed to declare the sale of a property to a local authority. The Ditch reported that Minister of State for Trade Promotion Robert had failed to include his sale of a property in Mullingar to Westmeath County Council for €230,000 in his declaration to the Standards In Public Office Commission (Sipo).

Josepha Madigan and many others who were caught not including details on the declarations

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/josepha-madigan-forced-to-correct-dail-declaration-of-interests-over-commercial-property-she-partly-owned-42114437.html

Ms Madigan, the Minister of State for Special Education, issued a statement on Wednesday in response to a story by On The Ditch which said the Fine Gael TD never declared her quarter share of a property in south Dublin.

Corruption at ABP as well as all the other issues they've highlighted at ABP

https://www.ontheditch.com/abp-internal-report/

Yeah The Ditch folks are doing great work.

Its no wonder the FFG folks hate them, they keep shining a light on all their wrong-doings, errors and corruption

jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120212408#Comment_120212408

There is a lack of empathy and fundamental human decency about some FG politicians. FG once had a good reputation. These people have destroyed it. Then again, Varadkar was installed as leader by the FG Politburo of Oireachtas members over the wishes and votes of the FG grassroots.

Regards...jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120212408#Comment_120212408

You can give us whatever you like, you're still talking tosh.

I'm listening to Verona Murphy on the radio at the moment, still asserting a load of made up nonsense absolutely not borne out by this report of the AG or any of the 12 prior.

In fairness to Cormac Ó'hEadhra, he is at every turn saying 'no, nope, wrong, no it hasn't, no it isn't', and Verona is flailing.

They say there is no smoke without fire, but when there is not even any smoke to be seen and you start to hear bleating from The Ditch and debunked self-regarding whistle-blowers, do yourselves a favour and think twice before boarding the bandwagon.

Its funny that they choose to call themselves 'The Ditch', for a couple of reasons.

One, hurlers on the ditch are said to be those who think they know everything but participate in nothing.

And two, what do you find in a ditch, only stagnant slurry runoff and dead rodents.

Indeed.