Sharp exchanges over the feasibility of Fine Gael's commitment to put 2,300 new hospital beds into the health system and renewed Fianna Fáil overtures to Labour dominated the election campaign yesterday. Stephen Collins, Political Editor, reports.
Minister for Health Mary Harney and the Taoiseach joined a number of Fianna Fáil Ministers in maintaining that the Fine Gael pledge on hospital beds had been exposed as unworkable in the leaders' television debate.
"If the next government wants to raid the funds in the health capital programme in order to build 2,300 hospital beds, the inevitable result will be to cast aside a range of crucial hospital projects and developments for the ambulance service, vital for hospital services across the country," said Ms Harney.
"It is irresponsible for Fine Gael to cast such doubts on a carefully phased programme, especially when it is unnecessary. This Government will provide 500 acute hospital beds through the health capital programme and a further 1,000 beds through co-location. There is no way to fund the Fine Gael plan without downgrading and freezing other projects," she added.
Speaking in Cork, the Taoiseach said that Thursday night's debate with Enda Kenny had given him an opportunity to "expose the myth" behind Mr Kenny's contract with the Irish people.
"We exposed the myth last night of the contract and that was clear to viewers. There's no money for the beds except you take the money from particular areas, from the cancer, from the children's hospital, from the capital development so that issue is now clear," said Mr Ahern.
Mr Kenny attacked the Government's inability and unwillingness to change a health service which he said was in crisis. "The Taoiseach and his Government have thrown in the towel on a health service that's in crisis.
"Two weeks ago the Taoiseach said people should be congratulating him on the health service and last night he refused to accept that it was in crisis.
"How can they fix a problem they don't realise exists? The Taoiseach has confirmed once and for all that if people want to change the health service, they have to change the government," he said while campaigning in Donegal.
The Fine Gael health spokesman Dr Liam Twomey insisted his party's bed proposal would not come at the expense of any other items in the National Development Plan (NDP). "Money is not the barrier to providing these vital hospital beds - what's missing is political will.
"Fine Gael knows that the most significant problems in the health service cannot be resolved without a dramatic increase in hospital bed capacity. For example, services like additional cancer care cannot be delivered without extra beds.
"In government, Fine Gael will deliver 2,300 extra hospital beds at a capital cost of €850 million. The 2,300 beds will be the new government's priority project in the €2.4 billion acute hospitals sub-programme of the NDP," he said.
However, Minister of State for Children Brian Lenihan said that Fine Gael was engaged in a desperate attempt to "mop up their leader's destruction of his own 'contract' commitments" and he said they had adopted four different positions in less than 24 hours.
On the campaign trail in Cork, the Taoiseach repeated that he would have no problem doing business with Labour after the election if the numbers with the PDs did not add up.
"I would be very happy with what we've had for the last 10 years - the Progressive Democrats and ourselves - and if that's not possible, I've declared clearly what my options are. I've said previously I had no difficulty in doing business with Labour. I think maybe Labour have a contrary view but let's see what happens," said Mr Ahern.
Speaking on the RTÉ Six One News last night, Labour leader Pat Rabbitte responded to the overture by saying: "Forget it, Bertie." He said he had staked his political reputation on getting Fianna Fáil out of office in this election.
Minister for Education Mary Hanafin said there were huge contradictions between Labour and Fine Gael on education and she maintained that Labour was closer to her party on the issues.