The health service is "a shambles" and the lack of public confidence in it makes it "a national crisis", Fianna Fáil Cork East TD Ned O'Keeffe said after quitting the parliamentary party last night.
Denied the opportunity to speak in the often highly-charged debate, Mr O'Keeffe attacked the Government for threatening to expel TDs if they failed to side with the Government.
"People must be very worried about the situation when messengers are sent out to issue threats of the consequences of not voting with the Government."
He asked if Fianna Fáil TDs were to "suppress our anger and outrage, take a vow of silence" and support Minister for Health Mary Harney when constituents tell them that the health service is "a shambles".
He circulated a copy of a four-page statement to journalists in Leinster House, where he criticised the creation of private hospitals on public hospital lands.
In addition, he circulated a copy of a one line letter that he has sent to the Government Chief Whip, Tom Kitt, which states: "I resign the whip from the parliamentary party."
However, Mr O'Keeffe's decision to quit the whip, yet vote for the Government's counter-motion was greeted with incredulity by many colleagues last night.
In his lengthy statement, the Cork East TD said the Government must "restructure this monstrous Health Services Executive so that it becomes efficient, effective and patient-friendly".
He went on: "The HSE was promised and presented as the organisation that would change everything - for the better. And what have we got? More bureaucracy and more bungling."
The Government's health policy can be summarised as "confrontation, privatisation and Americanisation" delivered by co-location hospitals and the National Treatment Purchase Fund.
"Let's get back to basics putting patients and their needs first. Stop calling them 'clients' and let's get our existing hospitals functioning properly."
He added: "We are emerging from a period of unprecedented social and economic success and what we have to show for it - a health service that is broken down.
"Are we out of touch with the level of anger and upset? Are we out of touch with the chaos out there? And the ultimate cop-out is to say it is someone else's problem."
Later he continued: "How in God's name can we sit here and accept the mess that is out there in our health system? It is simply not good enough to say, 'I wasn't aware, I wasn't told.
"These comments are repeated and trotted out every time something goes wrong. Minister, that is simply not good enough," said Mr O'Keeffe, who failed to back Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in October when he faced a motion of no confidence.
"I am speaking tonight because I feel so strong and so angry that we, as politicians, have failed the public. Never before have I felt as strongly as I do about something so fundamental.
"Let's forget about the optics and the antics, the spinning, the briefings, the sliding out the side-door to avoid difficult questions. Let's tackle what is a national crisis." He concluded: "Whatever the outcome there is one absolute certainty out there in every city, town and village and rural area, that there is no confidence in our health system."
