Editorial: Leaked Health tapes highlight need for transparency on public spending

Rather than denying the content of meetings without actually refuting them in substance, the government, the Department of Health and the HSE would be better off engaging on the public interest issues raised

The issues of ‘fake targets’, budgets that can’t be spent, political interference leading to money being allocated without proper due diligence, and questions over the transparency of the HSE’s finances have all been compounded again this week by a second round of health tapes published by this newspaper

The initial fallout from the Business Post’s publishing of leaked Department of Health meetings was predictable, with the HSE and government issuing general denials, but nevertheless confirming most of the substantive issues raised in the meetings.

However, by the end of the week, the response was being very much coordinated, with similar comments coming from the HSE and the Department of Health, while a whispered chorus of off-record sources increasingly questioning the credibility of the ...