Minister of State for Health Róisín Shortall failed to make a single reference to her senior colleague Dr James Reilly in tonight’s Dáil debate on the motion of no confidence in him.
Ms Shortall, who is known to have a fraught relationship with the Minister for Health, devoted her speech to outlining her priorities in primary care, her area of responsibility.
She criticised the “lack of priority afforded to producing the free GP care legislation” as “very disappointing."
"Allocated funding must be restored to start this key initiative this year,” she insisted.
The Dublin North West TD said the Government faced a huge challenge to manage and reform the health service with a reduced budget. She asked if the Government should “increase prescription charges for medical card patients or instead reduce the drugs bill”. Should they “cut public health nurses or instead collect money owed by insurance companies”, and should they “cut home helps or impose a cap on consultants’ pay?”
The Government comfortably defeated the Fianna Fáil motion of no confidence in Dr Reilly by 99 votes to 49.
Ms Shortall’s lack of endorsement of Dr Reilly was in sharp contrast to those of the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, a number of Cabinet members and backbenchers who expressed confidence and support in the Dublin North GP.
The second Minister of State in the Department of Health, Kathleen Lynch, said she had every confidence in Dr Reilly.
“This Minister for Health is doing a tremendous job under appalling circumstances,’’ she added.
Defending the Government’s record, Ms Lynch said there was, finally, movement in the mental health area. The Central Mental Hospital would be replaced in the middle of the worst crisis ever seen.
“We are about to build the national children’s hospital,’’ she added.
Rounding on Fianna Fáil , Ms Lynch said “brass necks’’ would not even describe its no confidence motion.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny rejected opposition claims that Dr Reilly had engaged in a deeply cynical campaign in advance of the last election.
“He articulated a health reform programme that he is passionately committed to implementing,’’ he added.
Mr Kenny said he had every confidence in the Minister’s ability and determination to see the reforms he had been tasked with to fruition.
“He is a man who came into politics for the right reasons, to change the Irish health service for the better and I have every confidence in his ability to deliver on the mandate and responsibility given to him,’’ he added.
Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore described the no confidence motions as blatant and cynical examples of political gamesmanship in the Dáil.
Rounding on Fianna Fáil, Mr Gilmore said that when the party departed office last year it had left behind a budget deficit of €22.4 billion, 444,000 people out of work, a banking collapse that ended up costing the taxpayer €64 billion and Ireland’s economic sovereignty surrendered.
“One can only marvel at the sheer neck of the 19 men on the benches opposite,’’ he added.
Mr Gilmore said that the adjustments to the health service budget over the past number of years had been difficult.
“And yet this Government, and this Minister for Health, have demonstrated that it is still possible to make progress, in some cases more progress than was made by the previous Government during the largest expansion in health spending in the history of the State,’’ he added.
Catherine Murphy (Ind) said the health budget put forward by the Minister was completely unrealistic.
But the Government was justified in its criticism of Fianna Fáil who had created so many of the problems evident in the health services today.
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan said Fianna Fáil had had control of the Department of Health for 14 years. “It wasn’t mismanaged by neophytes. It was run by some of your leading lights together with Mary Harney.”
