The Opposition says the wrong Minister has resigned after Junior Health Minister Roisin Shortall stepped down last night.
Minister Shortall resigned her position and the Labour Party whip over what she says is a lack of support for reforms promised in the Programme for Government.
Difficulties between Minister Shortall and the Minister for Health James Reilly emerged in recent weeks.
They came to a head last week after it emerged Minister Reilly added two locations in his own constituency to a list of primary care centres.
Meanwhile a Fine Gael minister says a party colleague was ‘wrong’ when he agreed that a decision looked like ‘stroke politics’.
Transport Minister Leo Varadkar made the comment at the weekend but said he trusted Minister Reilly to make the right decision.
Speaking to Breakfast here on Newstalk Junior Finance Minister Brian Hayes insisted the decision was James Reilly’s to make.
Meanwhile the Tánaiste is to appoint a new Junior Minister to Health in the near future after the resignation of Deputy Shortall last night.
This morning Labour deputy leader Joan Burton will have to face the opposition in the Dáil chamber following the announcement last night.
Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore is currently in the United States and was apparently made aware of the resignation yesterday by e-mail.
Newstalk’s Political Editor Shane Coleman has been looking back on recent events.
He told Breakfast this is a bad reflection on the Labour Party.
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