Yeah, but he wants to change that culture from the inside now.
cc @croppy_boy
Simon Coveney in a spot of bother now over not responding to an Air Corps whistleblower. So begins the slide towards the next GE.
Lozers
Coveney pitching for the big job now. Enda is a lame duck, Iād say there will be open warfare in FG soon as Coveney, Leo, Fitzgerald et al jockey for position.
Surely Fitzgerald couldnāt get it? Sheās chronic, would still be an improvement on Kenny, mind.
Simon Harrisās wings have been well and truly clipped. Even the speed and cadence at which words leave his mouth has slowed down dramatically in recent times. Its amazing how there was not the same level of furore when Varadkar was minister, or investigative journalism into the ills of the healthcare system. Instead he was touted as the next leader of FG.
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Harris is in an impossible position now unless he somehow manages to deliver something radical in the next 12 months. Everything he says, all the hand wringing, all the āembarrassmentā, all the promises, will have been said countless times in the past 15 years and nothing had changed.
She could be a viable compromise candidate if Leo and Coveney rip each other apart.
Sheās old enough too
Exactly and the thing is he has made enemies with most of the various stakeholders who he needs on his side especially the consultants. The public wont tolerate the āmess I inherited lineā anymore. Its mind boggling how a 30 year old who twice dropped out of 2 economics courses and has an arts degree in journalism could become minister of one of the most important and hard to manage portfolio you can get. Its gone from Trollies debacle to waiting lists debacle to Childrens hospital debacle.
Meanwhile FG become even more unpopular and FFās star is rising. Its only a matter of time before they are back in power with probably labour as coalition partners if they can manage 10 seats in next election. Iād expect to see a GE by end of the year.
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In a while, crocodile.
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Is the Donnelly thing more hilarious or tragic?
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I didnāt know that about him. How did he get so high so quick being such a quitter? No doubt heāll bolt out of this one too when heās found out.
I thought it was hilarious when he was upset that people were mean to him for his complete political volte-face, and tragic that he has become just another cog in the machine when I had hopes of him building a new machine altogether.
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I donāt know if the health service is fucked irrespective of the minister in charge. But Harris seems to be following Varadkarās lead in āfacing the musicā. Iām sure they have their advisers checking whether itās better to put your head in the sand and say fuck all or come out publicly and accept that things arenāt good enough. Both seem to actually get some kudos along with the inevitable criticism for giving interviews saying itās upsetting to them as fellow Irish citizens never mind as public representatives or government ministers to see people or trolleys or waiting for operations. They say they understand how people feel, they know itās stressful for patients and families, theyāve organised for a task force to be created, they will receive the report back as soon as possible etc etc. They go from programme to programme on TV and radio delivering these same soundbites and get some praise for ānot hiding from the problemā even though theyāre delivering fuck all in the way of solutions.
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His chief skill seems to be snivelling
It is. They need to appoint a completely independent person as minister for health. A non-political appointee, ideally someone who has actually some idea of how to run a health system. You canāt fix the health service while kowtowing to the unions and promising everyone a hospital in their backyard. It requires a complete overhaul, so the person would need a term of 5 years+, we could pay them millions if necessary, itād be well worth it.
Iām shocked that no government has done it, itād basically give you a free pass on healthcare for the term of the government.
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After having to spend Monday in a&e, all I can say is that the staff on the front line are great.
The biggest mistake made was allowing everyone to keep their jobs when the HSE was formed. It was a ridiculous decision that should never has been made. It was the perfect time to look to streamline the management of the health service and focus on the front line and services.
There is no politician with balls big enough to go in a take on the invested interests and maybe an outside appointment with no political alligence and not worried about the next election is required.
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Harris could do worse than follow the lead of the Macedonian health minister who incidentally is the same age as Harris and had a similar mess to inherit albeit is armed with a much superior qualification in a law degree. Who would think that a centralised computerised Diary of schedules and appointments of specialists and surgeons could lead to waiting lists being slashed. This system is being rolled out in other balkan countries with the effect of them jumping double digit placings in European health consumer index.
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Fuck me but you arenāt serious with that guff are you?
Your solution to fix the health service is to appoint a non political appointee who knows how to run a health service
Somebody like Mr. Tony OāBrien perhaps ,the man who ran and delivered the excellent SDU & the NTPF. He is successful in his field and has a proven track record
Why donāt we headhunt him from his current role as head of the HSE to take up the new role which you suggested which is the head of the HSE
Quit with the glib inane suggestions FFS
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