A Junior Minister has denied the health budget for next year is unworkable, despite a warning from the heads of four of the country's biggest hospitals to the HSE over cuts.
A report on RTÉ's Primetime programme stated that the Chief Executives of Tallaght Hospital, St James' Hospital, the Mater and Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children have warned that cuts mean some cancer patients are facing delays in treatment, due to overwhelming pressures on services.
The hospitals have warned the HSE of the dangers to patient safety as a result and say they cannot continue to operate in such a manner.
Fine Gael TD Fergus O'Dowd told Newstalk's Breakfast says cuts can be made without cutting services:
Senator and Consultant Oncologist at St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin, Professor John Crowne told Newstalk's Breakfast the letters are extraordinary because they go against the normal culture among hospital chiefs:
Stephen McManus, CEO of the Irish Patients Association admitted to Newstalk's Pat Kenny show the move might have been designed to embarrass the minister, but the issue needed to be highlighted:
