John Whelan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I commend the new Minister for Health, Deputy Leo Varadkar, on the manner on which he has approached his remit and brief and on being so forthright and forthcoming. I ask him, at the earliest opportunity and possibly in the Seanad, to nip in the bud certain terrible speculation, rumour and gossip that are swirling around in the public domain.

This arises because of the publication of so-called secret and confidential HSE reports. There are rumours the accident and emergency departments in Clonmel, Portlaoise and Naas will be closed. It seems that if somebody had his or her way, there would not be an accident and emergency department between Dublin and Cork.