Christopher O’Driscoll was seventeen. The HSE knew about him since he was ten. Since then, he had been in and out of care facilities, an when they were full, bed and breakfasts, or hotels. On May Day weekend last year, he had nowhere to go. The administrators had shut down their computers, closed their offices,… Continue reading Natural Causes
Tag: bureaucracy
The welcoming committee
You know how it goes. A bunch of guys (and they probably were guys, not gals) sits down to make some plans. For the most part, the meeting is businesslike, focused on the task at hand. But inevitably, because we are social animals, someone will crack a joke at some point. And just occasionally, someone… Continue reading The welcoming committee
The Other Report…
In case you missed them, the (edited) conclusions of the Leas Cross inquiry: Primary responsibility for maintaining standards of care at Leas Cross nursing home rested with the proprietors and the person in charge of the nursing home. For nearly two years between 2003 and 2005, standards of care at Leas Cross fell below acceptable… Continue reading The Other Report…
Doling Out The Blame
Dole minister Mary Hanafin is trumpeting the results of social welfare fraud investigations. In short, just over one in ten claims investigated were ‘suspended’ or ‘under continuing investigation.’ We are not told how many inquiries are continuing, and how many are completed. So much for presumed innocent. The majority of dodgy claims were from foreigners,… Continue reading Doling Out The Blame
Data Flow
I bought a ticket for the M50 toll this evening. The leaflet from the NRA misleadingly calls it a free eflow windscreen tag. It costs me €1 per month – plus a charge every time I use a toll road. What disturbed me is that once I entered the registration number of my car, the… Continue reading Data Flow
Call Waiting
I had to phone the government this morning. I tried several times to get through to the relevant number. Each time, I got a recorded message telling me the holder of the number had not set up a voicemail account, the automatic forwarding service was not able to forward me to an operator, and could… Continue reading Call Waiting