Quinn: Dr Reilly has 'inherited a mess'
Labour's Ruairí Quinn has given his backing to Dr James Reilly and said he deserves support from all members of Government.
The Junior Health Minister and Labour Party colleague, Roisín Shortall, has again refused to state whether she has confidence in Dr Reilly.
Earlier, Ms Shortall also questioned the Minister's decision to add two primary health care facilities in his own constituency to a list already finalised by the HSE.
Minister Reilly said he made the decision as a "GP on the ground" and will not apologise for it.
Ms Shortall rebuffed three opportunities to state her confidence in the Minister today, the Minister for Education chose to state his support for the Health Minister.
Mr Quinn said: "He has both my confidence and my sympathy because he has inherited an incredible mess.
"He is a medical doctor in his own right. The area of medicine is not one that I have been involved in directly, I was never a member of a heatlh board, so I don't understand all the complexities.
"He certainly has a very difficult task to do and he deserves the support of all his colleagues in Government and he certainly has mine."
