Politics

James Reilly warns it will be difficult for new government to last

Outgoing minister says serving department of health negatively impacted on his career

Outgoing minster James Reilly says ‘it is improbable that a government will be formed without Fianna Fáil’. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times
Outgoing minster James Reilly says ‘it is improbable that a government will be formed without Fianna Fáil’. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times
Vivienne Clarke
Tue Apr 05 2016 - 12:22

The outgoing Minister for Children and Youth Affairs James Reilly has warned that it will be difficult for the new government to last.

“Tough budgets and tough decisions will be needed,” he said.

"The way the results fell means this is a very complex Dáil situation. Look at the arithmetic. Realistically Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil need to sit down and talk. It is improbable that a government will be formed without Fianna Fáil."

He admitted that Irish Water will be a major problem in discussions: “Fianna Fáil is being hypocritical as they first brought up water charges.

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"I believe good progress has been made with input from all. A document is being put together which will represent the input from all who took part in the talks - the Independents, the Greens and Fine Gael. But realistically Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil will need to sit down."

Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Sean O'Rourke he said Fine Gael's message in the election should have been "spread the recovery".

“A lot of mistakes were made. It’s important to learn from your mistakes, but it’s better to learn from other’s mistakes.”

The former health minister says he would have abolished the HSE and that he believes strongly in universal health insurance and is not impressed by the current two tier system.

“I believe strongly in universal health insurance. I’m not at all impressed by the system we’ve had. I wanted to be an advocate for patients. I saw people wait unconscionable lengths of time for treatment while at the same time people who had insurance could get an appointment the next week.”

Mr Reilly said that his biggest regret during his term as Minister for Health was the stress and anxiety caused by medical card cuts in Budget 2013.

He said his time in the department had a negative impact on his career and that he became a lightning rod for the problems of the Government. He also felt that the health service had paid the price of the bailout.

Mr Reilly said he has not “come to a firm conclusion” on whether he will go back into politics and is considering returning to general practice. “Being a GP is my first love,” he said.