Michael Finucane (Fine Gael)

They appeared to call for a softening of attitude on the question of nurses' wages. Today the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, expresses surprise at the reaction of Fianna Fáil backbenchers because all she is doing is implementing Government policy.

The Minister, Deputy Harney, promised in the programme for Government that there would be contracts for consultants. Now, with an imminent general election, there is still turbulence between consultants and the Department of Health and Children.

What has gone wrong? A photograph yesterday in a newspaper showing a CAT scanner, for which volunteers had raised funds, lying in a basement in Louth County Hospital, Dundalk, next to the dirty linen, is an indictment of the health services. Staff have not even been recruited to operate it.