Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

-----but he shafted her in public. If that is how the Tánaiste treats his friends I certainly would not like to be one of his enemies. Deputy Shortall has now been sacrificed in favour of the type of politics we have witnessed from the Minister, Deputy Reilly, where Fine Gael constituency considerations are put ahead of established criteria for allocating scarce resources. At the same time the Minister was conferring commercial advantage on a select few. Does the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, agree with Deputy Shortall that decisions on the location of primary care centres must be transparent, based on health need and no other consideration? Was the Minister for Social Protection consulted, as a Cabinet colleague of the Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, on the choice of the additional 15 centres which were added to the original list of 20? Does she agree with Deputy Shortall that the public have a right to expect that decisions on health will be made in the public interest based on health needs and not driven by other concerns? Will she unequivocally tell the House and the Irish people this morning that she has full and total confidence in Deputy James Reilly as Minister for Health?

See this speech in context