He made his remarks in the Seanad on Thursday [1].
The appointment was already under attack over the manner in which it happened.
Health Minister, Stephen Donnelly had given a public guarantee that a transparent tendering process would take place to ensure the appointment of an ‘independent’ chairperson. Last week, however, the Minister was forced to concede in replies to parliamentary questions from TDs Peader Tóibín and Michael Collins that a “small number of candidates, [2] identified as having suitable experience for the position, were contacted and invited to apply for the role of independent Chair.”
Potential tenderers for research positions with the Review were told that the Department “has a very limited budget available for this project” and would be looking for value for money.
Furthermore, a spokesperson for the Pro-Life Campaign [3] noted the “embarrassing speed” with which The National Women’s Council welcomed the appointment of barrister Marie O’Shea as chairperson, and the way they paid tribute to the Minister’s decision to abandon the tendering process “has all the signs of a coordinated effort to move things in a particular direction, with the Minister caving to the demands of strident pro-abortion campaigners”.