Fianna Fáil leader Micheal Martin has accused the Government of putting lives in danger by under-funding the health service.
Martin was reacting to reports that the head of the HSE warned the government about the effects of further cuts to the health sector.
The government forced the HSE to change its service plan for the year, drawing criticism about the budget cuts.
Speaking at his party's think-in, Micheal Martin says the government put lives in danger.
"The chief executive officer of the HSE said that the budget you're forcing [him] to adopt is compromising patient safety," he said.
"And then what we had was the Minister having to censor the HSE service plan. If any other government tried to so something like that, there'd be hell to pay - they cooked the books."
Martin is himself a former Minister for Health, having held the position from 2000 – 2004, a position he inherited from Brian Cowen. During his tenure he brought in the workplace smoking ban and established the HSE.